Tainted And Torn
by JazLawliet
Summary: Read to find out what it's all about. Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, D. Gray-Man, Black Butler, or any other anime I decide to include in this story. Please don't be too harsh. This is my story, and I wrote it for my own entertainment. If you are going to be negative, don't read it. Thanks.
1. The Cult Appears

**Chapter 1: The Cult Appears**

Jasmine Everburne woke up choking. Screams made her ears ring, and she couldn't see anything other than dark gray. It covered everything, writhing and swirling and trying to push itself down her gasping throat. Unable to make a sound, she staggered out of bed, dizzy and swaying from lack of oxygen. She pushed through the oppressive substance, driven by a primal instinct to get away, far away. The little eleven-year-old flung open the entrance to her balcony, letting out the smoke. She watched in horror as it soared past her, a vaporous creature that brought images of ghosts and evil wraiths to mind. She turned to face her room, now able to see clearly, and immediately stumbled backwards as licking flames roared at her, reaching grasping, glowing fingers toward her. It devoured everything it touched, destroying everything that the poor girl had ever known. It should have been satisfied, but it continued to reach for her, chasing her out into the open air. Her simple black nightgown whipped about her legs in the fierce wind and she gasped, heaving in deep breaths of the pure, untainted oxygen.

"Look what we have here." a voice snarled. Jaz turned toward the voice in terror. A tall man dressed in a long robe advanced toward her, his eyes on the X made of onyx that was embedded in her chest, right above her heart and just below her collarbone. "The little witch is alive." He reached one bony hand out and Jaz could only stand like a deer in the headlights as the branded limb wrapped around her throat and started squeezing. Her survival instincts kicked in and she wrenched away from her attacker with a burst of adrenaline. She leapt backwards and searched frantically for a way out, her heart sinking as she realized that the only escape would probably kill her. Oh well. It was a death sentence either way, and she wasn't about to let that evil old man touch her again. She turned and vaulted over the stone railing of the balcony, launching herself into the frigid night air. She felt light and airy as she twisted, trying to get her feet under her. She did, just as she crashed into a tree.

Ignoring the pain her body was in, Jaz climbed the tree and jumped to the next one, treehopping until she reached the edge of the orchard. The iron fence that marked the edge of the estate was about twenty feet away, but Jaz had a running start. Gritting her teeth and hoping for the best, Jaz pushed off of the very tip of the branch and just barely cleared the top of the fence. She hit the ground hard, and was certain that she had sprained something, but the shouts of the men who had set her beloved home on fire spurred her on.

Jaz ran as fast as she could, sprinting towards the nearest town. _Please, please, please let me make it._ She silently begged any deity who cared to listen. Her feet were torn and bloody by the time the first lights came into view. She clutched the front of her nightgown and tugged the top over her birthmark, knowing that anyone who saw it would accuse her of being a witch. She raced to the police station, hoping against hope that someone there could help her. "Thank you!" she gasped out loud, noticing that the lights were on and that there was movement inside the building. She made sure that she was safely covered before ripping the door open and rushing in, effectively alarming everyone inside.

"Who are you?" a lady asked her kindly, worry and concern etched all over her features.

"Please help me!" Jaz begged, not even attempting to stop the flow of tears that spilled down her delicate face. "I am Jasmine Everburne, and someone set my house on fire! There was a group of men in long robes chasing me, and I only just got away! I ran all the way here, but I think my parents are still inside, and I don't know what to do..." She was coughing and breathless, the smoke in her lungs taking its toll.

"Woah, calm down." the lady said, walking to Jaz's side and helping her sit in one of the plush chairs. Jaz was too distraught to notice the grandfatherly man who was watching her sadly, horrified that someone would attack this poor girl's family. The kind lady, whose name was Roxanne, gently knelt beside Jaz. "Honey, I need proof that you really are the Everburne child. Otherwise, this could all be an elaborate prank. I'm sorry, but I hope you understand." Jaz flinched and released her death grip on the nightgown, letting the fabric fall away to reveal her mutation. Roxanne didn't do anything to make Jaz feel bad or unwanted; she just nodded and started yelling orders to everyone in the vicinity. "Jasmine, I need you to stay here with Mr. Whammy." Roxanne soothed, bringing Jaz's attention to the old man. She only nodded, and Mr. Whammy came and sat beside her, reassuring Roxanne in a low voice that he would do his best to take care of the child until this whole situation was resolved. With that, Roxanne went to help the others.

Jaz pretty much collapsed, crumpling in on herself as she just lost it, sobbing and coughing until she fell unconscious, exhausted from her adrenaline-fueled flight. Mr. Whammy regarded the unusual stone embedded in the girl's body, caught somewhere between horror and curiosity. He wondered how much it had hurt to have that done to her, and what kind of a person would intentionally do that to a child. He looked at her sleeping form sadly, hoping that her parents were alive. It just wasn't fair to have her parents taken from her at such a young age. She mumbled something, and her whole body tensed. Her mane of white hair clung to her face with sweat, and bruises were beginning to form around her neck, striking against the paleness of her skin. She was shaking, whether it be from cold, terror, or a mixture of both, Mr. Whammy did not know. However, he did care. He found a first aid kit in one of the cupboards, and it had a blanket. Mr. Whammy wrapped Jaz's vulnerable body in the blanket, leaving her feet out so that he could clean and bandage them. He winced, looking at the bloody mess, but nevertheless, he gently and carefully cleansed the lacerations and bandaged them, trying to keep the procedure as painless as he could for the heir to the Everburne fortune.

He stayed with her for the rest of the night, never sleeping. Jaz, however, never woke. She caught a fever, and Mr. Whammy applied cold compresses to her forehead periodically, making sure that the unfortunate child was as comfortable as possible all the while. She only woke once the police got back. She was ashen and haggard, but she still managed a grateful smile for Mr. Whammy to thank him for helping her throughout the night. She shuffled over to Roxanne, her hopeful expression breaking the woman's heart. "My parents? Are my Mom and Dad okay?"

Roxanne covered her mouth with her hand, taking a few deep breaths to steel herself for what she was about to tell the girl. Roxanne knelt down so that she was at eye level with Jaz, putting both of her hands on the little girl's shoulders. "Jasmine, I want you to listen to me very carefully. You can never go home. Those men killed your parents and tried to kill you. You are an orphan. If you ever try to go home, those men will take you, and they will hurt you because you bear that mark. They are members of a cult, and this cult's objective is to 'purify the tainted world'. To them, you qualify as tainted. You must survive, and when you turn seventeen, you will inherit your parent's fortune." Jaz stood still, completely rigid, as her traumatized mind tried to make sense of what Roxanne was telling her. Roxanne shook her lightly. "Jasmine! Do you understand?"

Jaz nodded, her eyes filling with tears. "My parents are... dead? Are you positive?" She had hope that maybe, just maybe, there hadn't been any bodies to find and that the woman only thought that they were dead. Maybe they had escaped.

Roxanne couldn't meet the girl's inquiring gaze. "I am so, so sorry, Jasmine. We found their bodies. We also found the bodies of thirty cult members."

"No," Jaz gasped, clasping one shaking hand over her quivering mouth. Her gold eyes stared in Roxanne's hazel ones, searching for anything, any sign that Roxanne was lying. She wasn't. Shell-shocked, she distantly heard Roxanne asking her if she wanted to have a funeral. She shook her head slowly. "No. If these men are out to kill me, then I need to get out of the country as soon as possible. I have my own bank account, and I'm pretty sure I have enough money for the trip. I want you to hold a funeral for them after I leave, and I also would like it if you could make it seem as if I died right alongside my parents. Please? I could pay you..."

Roxanne was shocked at how maturely Jaz was handling the situation. "No, payment won't be necessary. You've already been through so much, it's the least I could do for you."

Mr. Whammy chose this moment to step in. "Roxanne, if you don't mind, I would like to take Miss Everburne into my care. The authorities would just put her in an orphanage anyway. Seeing as how I already own an orphanage, I believe that I am perfectly qualified to care for Miss Everburne."

Stunned, Roxanne only nodded. Jaz, on the other hand, turned her cold, emotionless eyes onto Mr. Whammy. "Thank you, Mr. Whammy." she stated dully. "Do you live in this country?"

Mr. Whammy wasn't in the least bit surprised at how smart this girl was, after all, he owned an orphanage full of geniuses. "Why, no, Miss. I came here on vacation, you see?"

Jaz nodded, her formerly sparkling eyes now lifeless and dark. Mr. Whammy pitied her. "I would love to go with you Mr. Whammy. I have nowhere else to go, and my only possessions are this nightgown and this necklace." She gestured to an ornament around her neck that he had not noticed berfore. It was a slim silver chain, with a black J that rested in the hollow of her neck. The gem was crafted of the same material embedded in her chest.

Roxanne smiled tearily, happy that Jaz and Mr. Whammy had bonded so quickly. "I'm sure that can be arranged."

Jaz inclined her head, regressing into the noble stature that had been drilled into her mind since birth. "Thank you, Roxanne. I must ask that you set about this task quickly and efficiently." Roxanne nodded and turned on her heel, hurrying to accomplish the job she needed to do. Jaz looked at Mr. Whammy, and he could see the raw pain reflected in her eyes. As if realizing that the old man could see her suffering, Jaz slammed down a wall, her eyes going blank and cold as she clamped down on her emotions, forcing them into submission and driving them to the furthest outskirts of her being. "There was no need for such kindness, Mr. Whammy, and I am extraordinarily thankful. If it hadn't been for you, I would most likely have had to resort to living on the streets. As it is, you are one of the only people who is aware that I survived. These unfortunate circumstances have worked in our favor."

Whammy knew exactly why the poor girl was acting this way. She had just lost everything she had ever known, her entire life thrown into turmoil because of the hatred of a few men. It was only logical that she shut down all of her emotions. If she didn't, she would probably digress into a catatonic state. Neither option was preferable, but this one certainly didn't pose the problem the other one did. "Of course, Miss Everburne. Now, we must go over a few key things about my orphanage. Whammy's House is home to geniuses and people of extraordinary talent. For safety purposes, all residents must go by an alias. No one is to know your real name, unless you want them to. The same goes for your past."

Jaz nodded. "Well, Mr. Whammy, I would like it if you called me Jaz. If anyone asks, my real name is Jazia Talbot."

"Very well, Miss Talbot." Three hours later, everything was in order. The plane tickets had been paid for, the fake documents had been forged, and, as far as the rest of the world knew, Jasmine Everburne died on November 19, 2011.


	2. Whammy's House

**Chapter 2: Whammy's House**

The plane ride was long, and Jaz slept through most of it. She was experiencing severe psychological trauma, and her body refused to continue functioning, completely drained of energy from the events of the previous twenty-four hours. She tensed and mumbled to herself, sweating and whispering terrified phrases. It was the quietest reaction to a nightmare that Mr. Whammy had ever witnessed. It was like she was subconsciously aware that she was in a public place, and she refused to make a specatcle of herself. Mr. Whammy regarded the look of pure terror on her young face, and he felt bad for her, but he couldn't wake her up even if he wanted to. She needed her sleep, and he knew that she would most likely train herself to function without sleep, becoming an insomniac like many of his charges. He decided that he would wake her up if she started screaming. They landed without any incidents, and he woke her when everyone had exited the plane. "Hey, sir," the attendant said. "We need you to exit the aircraft."

"Yes, I understand." Mr. Whammy lifted Jaz into his arms with little effort because she was so small and light. He immediately proceeded to the baggage area, setting his newest charge on a bench gently. She woke when he returned with his bag, standing and shuffling along beside him, the bandages on her feet acting like shoes. She tugged the blanket tighter around her shoulders, taking care to keep it off the ground. She hadn't taken it off since Mr. Whammy had wrapped her in it. Mr. Whammy opened an umbrella, motioning for Jaz to follow him into the storm. "The orphanage is not far, Miss Talbot. I apologize for the lack of transportation, but they did not expect me to be home so soon."

"Mr. Whammy, I recall telling you to refer to me as Jaz." Jaz stated in a monotone. Mr. Whammy could already tell that she was going to fit right in.

"Oh, of course, Miss Jaz."

Jaz sighed. "Not Miss, Mr. Whammy. Just Jaz. I do not wish for anything to remind me of the life that was so cruelly taken from me. I need to be a normal civilian. Well, as normal as a genius with a mysteriously dark past can get, I suppose."

"I understand, Jaz." Mr. Whammy was saddened by how distant the damaged little girl had become. He sighed. He should have expected it. Many of his charges were mute, or antisocial, or just plain mean, tormented by horrible memories of their pasts.

Jaz hung her head as they walked in silence, trying her best to keep from crying._No more tears. Not now, not ever. I can no longer afford any kind of weakness. If I do, I will be no match for the cult when they find me. And find me they will, of that I am certain. Leaving America has only delayed them, momentarily put them off my scent. That old man was too smart to get caught in the fire. He knows I am alive, and he will stop at nothing to find me. When he does, I must be prepared. _Before she knew it, they had stopped in front of a large, wrought-iron gate, very similar to the one that had spanned the perimeter of her home. She sighed. It seemed she would not escape her past after all.

"After you, Jaz." Mr. Whammy gracefully held out one slender arm to the open gate. Jaz started in surprise. When had it opened? She shook her head in disdain, reprimanding herself under her breath for letting her guard down. She shuffled forward, staying under the shelter of the umbrella to the best of her ability. Mr. Whammy followed her, and she didn't turn around when the gate slammed shut behind him. She walked down the beautifully paved path that led up to a mansion. Her heart wrenched painfully at the resemblance it bore to her childhood home. When she reached the front door, Mr. Whammy slid a key into the lock and swung the door open silently, revealing a warmly-lit entrance hall. She stood on the mat and removed the sopping bandages from her chilled feet. To Mr. Whammy's surprise, her feet were healed completely, not even slightly scarred. "How is this possible?"

Jaz grimaced and dropped the bandages into the wastebasket that was right next to the door, hearing them land with a wet splat. "It has to do with my... well, you know." She waved a hand over the X, the blanket hanging off of one shoulder and pooling around her newly healed feet. Mr. Whammy only nodded and pulled the blanket over her other shoulder, hiding the X. Jaz smiled gratefully. "Thank you." Suddenly, she caught a flash of movement. She craned her neck around Mr. Whammy's body and met the obsidian eyes of a boy who was about fourteen. Dark bags accented the dark orbs, made more noticeable by skin as pale as hers. Black hair stuck out in all directions and he stood hunched over, as if he carried a very heavy burden on his back. His clothing hung off of his bony frame; a long-sleeved white shirt and baggy denim jeans. He was barefoot. He regarded her cooly. "Who is this, Mr. Whammy?" she asked in a monotone. A flash of surprise brightened the boy's eyes, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come, replaced with the aloofness that Jaz reflected in her own.

Mr. Whammy turned to follow her gaze. "Oh! This is L. He is a resident here."

Jaz couldn't help but mentally facepalm. "Yes, I realized that." She kept her face impassive, although she felt the urge to roll her eyes. She repressed the urge, staying polite to her new guardian. "Hello, L." She walked around Mr. Whammy, shuffling just like she had on the way from the airport. Again, she saw that flash of surprise in L's eyes. "I am Jaz. I am to be your new housemate."

L held out one slender hand. Jaz eyed it a little distrustully before hesitantly holding her own out._What is he doing?_she wondered. Suffice it to say, she had never seen a handshake before, much less participated in one. A small smile graced L's face. He grabbed her small hand in his own and shook it once, gently. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he let her go. "It's called a handshake, Jaz." His voice was also a monotone, deep and smooth.

Jaz blinked. "What does a handshake singify?" she asked, tilting her head to the side curiously.

L chuckled. Mr. Whammy watched in surprise as L and Jaz bonded, becoming closer than friends in a matter of seconds. The fourteen-year-old boy explained how a handshake meant "hello" without having any words spoken. Jaz's eyes widened. "Well, I was certainly sheltered. I have so much to learn!"

L smiled and wrapped an arm around the little girl protectively. "It's okay. I'll be your family now. I'll teach you all about everything I know." Jaz smiled, only barely holding back tears, and wrapped both of her arms around her new brother. Somehow, the blanket stayed where it belonged.

"L," Mr. Whammy asked. "Is it all right if Jaz sleeps in your room for tonight? I took her in unexpectedly, and I need to prepare a room for her with children her own age." L nodded, then he and Jaz shuffled off, L slightly pulling her along.

L led Jaz up to an elevator, pressing the up button. They waited a few moments until the doors opened, and then he practically dragged her inside, shaking with excitement. He didn't press any buttons; instead, he swiped a card in a slot next to the buttons._"Welcome, L."_A robotic voice stated melodically as the elevator started moving.

Jaz looked around for the voice, startled. It was clear that she hadn't experienced many of the wonders of the modern world. "It's okay, Jaz." L said. Jaz relaxed in response. If her brother said it was okay, then it must be okay. "It's only a robot."

"What's a robot?" Jaz asked in reply. L spent the whole elevator ride explaining different things to Jaz. He was surprised at how fast Jaz learned, but then again, Mr. Whammy wouldn't have taken her in if she wasn't smart. Jaz was sad when the elevator stopped, but she soon forgot that when the elevator doors opened directly into L's room. One half of it was shrouded in darkness, but what she could see were many screens. They covered the entire wall, with a solitary laptop sitting open on the floor, its monitor showing a black L on a white background. She got the feeling that, whatever it was, it was important and she probably shouldn't be messing with it, no matter how much she wanted to. She took in the rest of the room. A bed was shoved up against the corner, as far away from the wall of screens as it could possibly get. It didn't look like it had been recently used. A desk stood next to it, but what was remarkable about it was that it was covered with sweets of every kind, ranging from lollipops to strawberry shortcakes. Her mouth watered, and she dimly recalled eating dinner just before her parents had been killed. That made it at least twenty-four... no, forty-eight hours since her last meal.

L followed her gaze, and he frowned slightly. "Jaz, when was the last time you ate?"

"Two days ago." Jaz mumbled. Her stomach growled, as if proving her hunger.

L sighed. "You need to eat, Jaz. If you keep going for much longer without any food in your system, your body will shut down."

"Yeah, I know." Jaz shrugged, the movement sliding the blanket aside for a split second to reveal just a glimpse of black. "There's just been so much going on, I didn't even realize..." She trailed off as L held out a strawberry. "Ooh." Her eyes glinted with delight as she ate the strawberry in one bite, a little bit of juice dribbling down her chin. "Mmm." She closed her eyes in happiness, reveling in the sweet taste of the fruit. Then she saw the doughnuts. There were many, but she picked up one with no hole in the middle, knowing that it was a sign that it was filled with something. She sniffed it, and the unmistakeable tang of lemons assaulted her nose. Jaz's eyes brightened, and she looked around for the honey, spotting it quickly. She drizzled it on the pastry, and then sprinkled some powdered sugar on it. She noticed L watching her strangely. "What?" she asked, lowering the doughnut from her lips.

"It's nothing; I just thought that I was the only one who had a weird thing for combining sugary things." L grabbed a huge slice of strawberry shortcake, setting the strawberry aside before he ate it. Jaz smiled and took a bite out of her dessert, sighing contentedly. She ate a few more doughnuts after that, but only the jelly-filled ones. L tried one and didn't like it, so he gave all four of them to her. She smiled and ate them slowly, savoring each bite like it was sacred. L smiled. He was the same way with his cake.

After they were done, Jaz yawned. "You can have the bed." L said. "I don't usually use it anyway."

"Why not?" Jaz inquired. L looked okay; he didn't seem that sleep deprived, well, except for the bags under his eyes.

"I'm an insomniac." He opened his mouth to say more, but closed it when he saw Jaz nodding tiredly, trying her hardest to keep her eyes open. "Okay, you need sleep." He drew back the blankets for her, and helped her exhausted body lay down. He went to take the blanket from her shoulders, but her grip tightened. A flash of hurt momentarily made it past his walls, and he quickly hid it, but Jaz had already seen it. She shifted her gaze to a spot just over his right shoulder and let go of the blanket. L removed it, and she shut her eyes tightly, unwilling to see the look of horror that was sure to overtake his features. He stared at the mark, tons of theories and possibilities running through his mind. He saw how stiff she was, and instantly knew that the unusual anomaly had given her a lot of trouble during her life. "What happened?" he asked quietly. Jaz tentatively opened her eyes and was shocked to find that L was looking at her with no horror, just curiosity.

"I was born with it. My mother said that I had a twin brother as well, and that he had an emerald one on his hand, but the nurse that was caring for him kidnapped him and I have never even seen him. My parents sued the hospital, but the nurse just completely disappeared. I've never met my big brother." She was silent for a few moments. "Anyway, I was born with it. I don't know why. I think that my dad had one, too, because he was constantly wearing an armband over his bicep. He never took it off, not even at night. My parents put me in a public school for kindergarten, and I wore turtlenecks for pretty much the whole year. But when it started getting warmer, the kids started making fun of me for dressing so weird. They said that an Everburne should be more dignified... We got a tutor after that." Jaz was too wrapped up in her memories to notice her mistake, but L froze.

"Everburne?" Jaz's eyes snapped up to his in panic. "You're_the _Jasmine Everburne?" Unable to take back her slip-up, Jaz only nodded. "But, they said you were dead... You faked it, didn't you?" Again, she nodded. "Why?" L was truly curious. What would drive such a little girl to fake her own death?

Jaz looked at him, silently staring into his eyes and looking for any sign that she could trust him. Reluctantly, L pulled down his mental walls, letting all of his emotions show through. Jaz did the same, letting him see her raw, unadulterated pain to prove that her story was indeed the truth. "My life was in danger, and the people who threatened it would not stop until I was dead. So I decided to mislead them. They set my house on fire, accused me of being a witch, and one man even tried to strangle me. I ran five miles in bare feet." L looked at her feet disbelievingly. There were no marks, nothing to prove her statement. "You can talk to Mr. Whammy. He's the one who cleaned and bandaged them. It has something to do with the stone." L nodded. When he looked at her again, she was asleep. He pulled up the bedclothes to her chin, and put the blanket she had been wearing for two days straight over her sleeping form.

L turned to his laptop and crouched in front of it, turning on the microphone and talking to the task force he was working with on a murder case in France. He stayed like that well into the night, only moving to get cake or just to move into a more comfortable position. He was currently working on seven different cases around the world, and so he was very occupied. At around three in the morning, he heard soft whimpers coming from the bed. He stood and shuffled over to it, surprised to find Jaz writhing and kicking, clawing at her neck with her face sruched up in terror. She made hardly any noise, but he could see that she was definitely having a nightmare. "Hey," he said gently. "Hey, Jaz." She flinched away from him in her sleep and stopped writhing, but she was shaking so hard she was actually moving the bed. He firmly grabbed her shoulders and lightly shook her. "Jaz. Jasmine Everburne." She didn't respond. "Jaz Lawliet." He didn't realize what he was going to say until he said it, but it worked.

Her eyes fluttered open, stark terror very visible in the golden irises. "What..." she groaned, her voice a little raspy from sleep. "What did you just call me?"

A light blush dusted L's cheeks. "Jaz Lawliet."

Jaz smiled. "I like it. From now on I will be Jaz Lawliet, because Jasmine Everburne is dead and I never liked Jazia Talbot anyway. Although it says it on all my fake documents, I will hardly ever go by Jazia Talbot ever again. I am your little sister, after all, L Lawliet."

L smiled. "Do you have nightmares often?" Jaz nodded. "I can help you keep them away."

Hope flared in Jaz's eyes. "Can you really?"

"Yes. If you deprive yourself of sleep, you go for a very long time without the nightmares. When you do need to sleep, you are so exhausted that you don't dream at all."

"How do you know?" Jaz asked, but she had a sinking feeling that she already knew the answer.

"I used to have them as well." Jaz sighed. She had been correct.

"Well, tell me how, please. I am so sick of having these over and over again."

L smiled with understanding. "Well, eat a lot of sugar. I was actually surprised that you fell asleep after all those doughnuts. The sugar should have kept you up. Caffeine also helps."

"Caffeine like coffee?" Jaz asked, shuddering slightly. She had tasted coffee only once before, and she had detested it.

L noticed the shudder and inwardly smirked. "Well, there are also energy drinks and sodas that are jam-packed with caffeine and sugar."

Jaz brightened. "Really? Do you have any?"

L smiled. "Well, yeah. I'm okay with coffee, but the energy drinks and soda taste much better. There are also energy drinks that have coffee in them." He walked over to a minifridge that Jaz hadn't noticed before, retrieving two tall, black cans. They had green squiggles on them and said "Monster Energy". L handed her one. "Here. This should keep you awake, and if it doesn't, then I have no idea how to help you." Jaz shrugged and popped the top, chugging the fizzy liquid without even a grimace. Luckily, the caffeine and sugar combined did their job. Jaz's heart was racing and she was extremely hyper. L watched in despair as Jaz walked in circles, being quiet and careful not to wake anyone else up._Maybe I should have started her out small with a Mountain Dew or a Coke instead of the Monster._he thought as he observed that Jaz was now standing on her head and giggling uncontrollably. She teetered, and he caught her just as she toppled over sideways.

Jaz was still giggling quietly four hours later, when L summoned the elevator to take them to breakfast, since they had eaten all of the sweets that he had in his room. She calmed down during the elevator ride, thankfully. They emerged onto the first floor when the elevator stopped. Jaz had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, unwilling to part with it lest anyone see her mark. All conversation stopped when they entered the huge dining hall, every head turning to look in their direction. Jaz held her head up and sauntered over to a table without even flinching, knowing that her birthmark was covered up. No one was sitting at the table because it was piled high with food, most of it sugary. She immediately spied the doughnuts, and she grabbed all the jelly-filled ones. There were about eight. She also grabbed a jar of honey and a container of powdered sugar, not worried about taking it all because there were about ten more of each. She knew that people were looking at her oddly, but she didn't care. So what if she had a fetish for jelly-filled doughnuts covered in honey and powdered sugar? It was good!

L stood at Jaz's side, his plates piled high with slices of many different kinds of cake. He also had a mug of something that smelled fantastic. "What's that?" Jaz asked, staring pointedly at the mug.

"It's called hot chocolate. Have you ever had it?" Jaz shook her head regretfully. Several gasps alerted her to the fact that people were still watching and listening to them. "You have to try it!" L exclaimed. He grabbed another mug of the aromatic stuff, somehow balancing three plates of cake along his arms and holding mugs of hot chocolate in each hand.

Jaz eyed L with interest. "Wow." she remarked. "You're talented." She balanced her plate of doughnuts on her head and held the sugar and honey in one hand, her other one keeping the blanket in its place.

L smiled, eliciting more gasps from their audience. "So are you, showoff." Jaz grinned and scanned her eyes over the cafeteria, finally landing on a table near the back. Three children sat at it, not paying any attention to what was going on in the rest of the room. One had a white head of hair just like her, and he looked almost exactly like L. He was dressed completely in white and was playing with little toy robots. He looked like he was about eight. The other two sat as far away from him as they possibly could, and Jaz immediately felt sad for the little boy. She knew how it felt to be shunned. The offenders looked to be about Jaz's age. The one on the right had blonde hair that fell to his shoulders, and he was dressed entirely in black leather. His cold blue eyes stared at the little boy with something akin to anger. Beside him was a redheaded boy, who was occasionally stealing little bits of chocolate from the blonde boy's overflowing plate. The redhead was wearing white goggles with orange lenses, so Jaz couldn't see his eyes. He was playing a small handheld game and chewing, yes,_chewing_, on a cigarette.

Jaz made her way over to them, with L following close behind. She set her plate of sugary goodness down by the white-haired boy, quickly retrieving her mug of hot chocolate from L's grasp and helping him set his cake down. All three of the children looked up, and their faces changed from surprise to utter shock when they saw L. "L!" the boy with the blonde hair said.

"Hello, Mello." He gestured to Jaz, who was now sitting next to the little boy. "This is Jaz Lawliet."

"Hello, Jaz." the little white-haired boy said before the other two could even get a word in. "I am Near." He spoke in a monotone just like L and Jaz did. Jaz smiled and offered Near a doughnut, since he had no food in front of him. Near took it and eyed it suspiciously. He looked over at Jaz, who was drizzling honey and powdered sugar on a raspberry jelly-filled doughnut. "Can I have the honey and sugar?" he asked, curious to try the concoction that Jaz seemed to enjoy so much.

Jaz handed them to Near, and then she turned to the blonde boy, the one L called Mello. "You're Mello, right?" she asked. He nodded. She turned her gaze to the redhead.

"Matt." he said, as if he knew that she was looking at him. He grunted in frustration because he couldn't beat the boss on this level. Suddenly, Matt's game was grabbed from him. He looked up in anger, but stopped short when he saw that Jaz was staring at it and pressing buttons with a look of intense concentration on her face. Mello started to stand, ready to steal the game back for his friend, but Matt put a hand on his arm. "Wait." he said. "I want to see what she does." L and Near just watched, with Near leaning over her shoulder. His eyes widened fractionally every once in a while, and Matt had never seen Near look as surprised as he did now. Mello also looked surprised at Near's expression. Near was emotionless, like the robots he played with, and even this expression was out of character for him. Jaz handed back the game, a look of satisfaction gracing her features. Matt looked at the screen and choked on his cigarette._Congratulations_! The screen proclaimed._You have beat the level_! "How?" he asked staring at Jaz in surprise. Mello gasped quietly. Matt had been slaving on that level for three hours straight, and Jaz had beat the boss in a matter of seconds! Jaz launched into a detailed conversation with Matt about battle strategies, and they were pretty much instantly best friends.

Mello watched the two in awe. No one was better than Matt at videogames, and he felt a grudging admiration for this girl. "She's a genius." he said to L.

L smiled proudly. "Of course she is. She's my little sister."

Mello's jaw actually dropped. "Since when did you have a little sister?"

"As of yesterday." came the reply. L watched Jaz happily as she and Matt chatted about things called game platforms.

Jaz stopped in the middle of her sentence when she felt a weight on her lap. She looked down and smiled in delight at the sight she found. Near was curled up next to her with his head in her lap, and his arms were wrapped around her waist. He was fast asleep. L craned his neck to see what Jaz was so happy about and laughed out loud. Matt and Mello, stunned into silence because L was laughing, came around the table to see what all the commotion was about. Matt choked on his cigarette again, and Mello just stared in surprise.

Jaz ran a hand through Near's shaggy white hair. Near smiled in his sleep and relaxed, purring a little bit. Jaz turned to L, her eyes dancing. "Can we keep him?" L choked on his cake. "He's like a little kitty... He can be my little brother!"

"Of course we can," L conceded. "That is, if he wants to." Jaz made a happy little squealing sound. Jaz forgot that she was supposed to be holding onto the blanket, and fell away, exposing her secret to the whole room. The conversation quieted again, and most of the older kids were giving her pitying looks while the younger ones just regarded her with curiosity. No one noticed the boy crouched on the other side of the room that was observing Jaz with a predatory look in his red eyes.

* * *

Mr. Whammy led Jaz into the elevator and pressed a button that said 2000. "There are more than 2000 floors?" Jaz asked in surprise.

Mr Whammy chuckled. "No, that's the year you were born."

Jaz considered this. "Oh. That makes sense. But why does L have his own floor?"

"L is the greatest detective in the world, so he needs his privacy. He is also the only child who was born in 1997 that we are currently housing." Mr. Whammy explained.

"Hmm." Jaz said. The elevator opened to a brightly lit corridor, lined by doors of many different colors. Mr. Whammy led Jaz up to a black door. "How did you know that black is my favorite color?" Jaz asked, looking up at the sweet old man inquisitively.

"L noticed it, actually. He observed that you have so much black, and you might have mentioned it when you were high on caffeine." Jaz blushed.

"Well, in any case, thank you, Mr. Whammy." Jaz said.

Mr. Whammy removed a card from his pocket. "This is your keycard." he stated, handing Jaz the shiny black rectangle of plastic. It had a string of silver numbers on the front. "This also doubles as a debit credit card. It has all your funds, so you don't have to worry about spending too much. You have a laptop, and you can use the card to buy yourself some new clothes." Stunned, Jaz just nodded and swiped the card, gaining access to her new room. She closed the door on Mr. Whammy's retreating back, then turned to face the room she would be living in for at least the next six years. The walls were black, and the baseboards had been painted white to add a little contrast. Bookshelves covered one wall, a huge TV screen covered another, one was covered in floor to ceiling windows, and the other had a queen-sized bed, a dresser, a vanity, and a desk. There were speakers in every corn of the room. There was also a minifridge that Jaz discovered was stocked with Mountain Dew, honey, sugar, and jelly-filled doughnuts. She immediately knew that L was behind this. She smiled and took in the rest of the furniture. The bed had a white frame, and it was covered in a fluffy black comforter and a bunch of black pillows. There was a white teddy bear that was almost as big as Jaz was. The rest of the furniture was also white. There were two doors on the wall with the bed, not including the one she had just stepped through, but Jaz decided that she would check those out later.

There was a black laptop on the desk, and Jaz grabbed it before climbing onto the bed. She closed her eyes and sighed at the comfiness before flipping open the laptop. She knew that she needed new clothes, since she had been wearing the nightgown for almost three days. She went to a few different stores before deciding that she liked Hot Topic the best. After buying eighteen different t-shirts, nine pairs of different skinny jeans, thirteen pairs of leggings, three miniskirts, two pairs of shorts, a pair of combat boots, a lot of rubber bracelets, seven belts, seven pairs of underwear, four beanies, a bunch of socks, and posters of her favorite bands, Jaz had only spent 1/3 of her funds, which had origianlly been something like $1,000,000. She bought a toothbrush, a hairbrush, chocolate-scented shampoo and conditioner, strawberry-scented soap and deodorant, a razor, lotion, black nail polish, and a black robe after discovering that the black and white bathroom, which had been through the door closest to the bookshelves, had none of them. By then, she still had $500,000 left. She decided to invest it all in the stock market, which was skyrocketing. "I am one rich kid." Jaz muttered to the teddy bear, which she had named Val. She shut down the laptop and went to investigate the door she had not yet looked through. It was closest to the wall made of windows, and Jaz found that it was a walk-in closet. "Well, that's convenient." She had been afraid that she wouldn't be able to find places to put all the clothing she had just ordered.

The laptop informed Jaz that her purchases would arrive in the morning and would be delivered to her room. She decided to play some videogames to pass the time and drew the black curtains over the wall of windows to block out the light. Two hours later, she heard a knock on her door. She pulled the headset off, which was currently silent and opened the curtains, squinting at the sudden assault to her sensitive eyes. She opened the door to reveal Mello and Matt."Oh, hey, guys." she said, stepping aside so that they could come in.

They walked in, appraising her room. "Wow." Matt said, his eyes falling on the screen.

"I know!" Jaz smirked. "I've been playing for two hours straight."

Matt grinned. "'Atta girl! Can I play?" he asked, noticing that Mello had found a book and was now sitting on the bed reading it.

Jaz shrugged, a mischevious glint in her eyes. "Yeah, sure. I mean, if you wanna get your butt kicked."

Matt laughed. "We'll see about that." He grabbed a controller and headset and flopped down on the bed next to Mello. Jaz clambered up beside him after closing the curtains once again and fixing the fire so that Mello had light to read by, and they began to play. They didn't leave the room until lunchtime, and Jaz sauntered to the dining hall with her arms flung around her two new best friends.


	3. Kidnapped

**Chapter 3: Kidnapped**

By the time Jaz was fourteen, she was a multibillionaire. She was very careful about what stocks she invested in, but the ones she did invest in only served to profit her. L had decided to check on her one day when she had been investing, and she had shown him how it was done. She had given Mello, Matt, and Near the same kindness, and now they all had so much money they didn't really know what to do with it. Matt showed Jaz how to put her money in different banks around the globe, and so all five of them did that. Now they were rich beyond belief and Jaz was still set to inherit her parents' fortune, which was way more than she currently had. "We are so loaded it's scary." she groaned to her group one day during lunch. They nodded.

"Yeah." Near said. "I swear that I have spent, donated, and invested as much money in two days as the average working-class citizen makes in one year."

L ruffled his little sister's hair, and she scowled at him while working to get it back into the gravity-defying style it had been in a few moments ago. Her gold eyes were lined in black liner, and mascara made her lashes long and dark. She had on black lipstick to match her outfit, which consisted of a white and black sleeveless tunic that had a sort of flower-star-thing on the front accompanied by the words "Black Veil Brides" in fancy lettering, black tights that peeked through from under her shredded white leggings, and the pair of black combat boots that she wore every day. Her birthmark was on full display, as she had discovered that the poeple in England were much more tolerant of strange fashions than the superstitious citizens of America. She had a few black and white rubber bracelets stacked on her wrists, and her J necklace rested in the hollow of her neck, just like it had every time L had seen her. Two silver lip rings were stationed on the left side of her bottom lip, and a silver nose ring decorated the right side of her nose. Her left ear sported a silver cuff with a chain that was attached to a silver skull stud, while the right ear had the stud and three silver rings glittering at the top. "Wow, J." Matt said, looking up from his game to give her an approving once-over. "You've gone all-out today. Anything I should know about?"

Jaz shook her head, her waist-length white hair swaying gently. "Nah, I just figured I would go clubbing again tonight. Care to join me?"

Mello's head snapped up at the mention of clubbing. "I'll come!" he volunteered.

Matt grinned. "Yeah, I guess I'll come, too. What about you, L? Near?"

They shook their heads. "Near and I have a case." L said regretfully. Jaz just nodded. He had gone out clubbing with her a few nights ago, so she wasn't too mad at him for bailing. "Besides, Near is only eleven, he's too young to go clubbing."

Jaz nodded. "I guess you're right. You're missing out, though. This new club just opened up; they're calling it Nightshade. I've heard it's great."

L smiled. "Yeah, just don't get too drunk."

Jaz's face wrinkled up in disgust. "L, you know I hate alcohol." They ate for a few minutes after that, talking about what Mello and Matt were going to wear. Jaz smirked to herself as she listened to them talking. Mello and Matt were totally gay. What kind of straight guy gushes over which shoes to wear to a club? Jaz could totally see Matt and Mello as a couple, and she decided that tonight was the perfect night to play matchmaker to her two best friends. After lunch, it was time for school. Because Jaz was so advanced, she had a private online tutor, which she paid for herself. Matt and Mello thought she was crazy because she was actually spending money to improve her education. L and Near, on the other hand, were doing the exact same thing. When 6:00 rolled around, Matt and Mello knocked on her door, claiming that they needed her fashion expertise to find outfits for their planned excursion. She ordered Mello to go to his room and pick out a few outfits and that she would be there to help him after she finished up with Matt. On the outside she seemed excited to go clubbing, but inwardly she was smirking evilly. She was going to make Matt so sexy that Mello was going to drool.

"So, what should I wear?" Matt asked.

Jaz sat on his bed, which was nowhere near as comfy as hers, in her opinion. "First, I want you to answer a question. And I want the truth."

Matt arched an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Jaz finally let her evil grin show through, and Matt slightly paled. "Do you or do you not like Mello?"

Matt knew exactly what she was asking, and he blushed a bright red. He mumbled something under his breath. Jaz slunk over to him, wrapping her arms around him. "What? I didn't hear you."

"Yes." Matt repeated quietly.

Jaz arched an eyebrow, mirroring the expression that Matt had worn a few seconds ago. "Yes you do like him, or yes you don't?"

"I like him, okay?" Matt finally almost-yelled.

Jaz jumped back and immediately commenced her happy dance. "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!" she chanted. Matt grinned at his friend's antics.

After a few minutes of her chanting, Matt flopped onto the bed. "What should I wear? I want him to notice me, but I just don't know..." he trailed off, thinking about what Mello would like.

"_Che_. You are so helpless." Jaz scoffed in her unique manner, throwing open his closet door and strutting in. "Ooh!" she cried a few minutes later. "When did you get these, and why didn't I know about it?" She emerged from his closet holding a pair of black skinny jeans.

Matt groaned. "Oh, those. I got them a while ago, but I never had the balls to wear them, especially in front of Mello." He closed his eyes.

Jaz was silent for a few moments, and then her voice sounded right next to his ear. "Well, tonight is the perfect night to wear them. When Mello sees you, his ovaries are going to explode."

Matt barked out a laugh, his eyes flying open at the hilarity of her comment. "What?" he asked. "Mello is a guy, he doesn't even have ovaries."

Jaz got an evil glint in her eyes. "Oh? And you would know this how?" Matt mentally facepalmed when he realized that he had fallen right into her trap. He stayed silent, his face going a light shade of pink. Jaz sighed and threw the pants on his chest, stalking back to the closet. "Put those on!" she ordered over her shoulder. Grumbling to himself, Matt rid himself of his comfy pajama pants and shimmied into the skinny jeans. Jaz chucked a T-shirt out of the confines of the closet. Matt observed that it was the perfect shade of red, so it wouldn't clash with his hair, and he grudgingly admitted to himself that even though his best friend was an incredibly annoying tease, she really had an eye for this kind of stuff. He pulled it on. It clung to his body in all the right places, revealing his finely toned muscles. The v-neckline flaunted the perfect amount of skin, not too much, not too little. Jaz came out a few seconds later, holding a pair of black DCs in her hand. She gave a low wolf-whistle. "You look hot, Matt. Mello's going to drool."

"Yeah, right." Matt said, a little dejectedly. "He probably doesn't even like me that way."

Jaz scoffed again. "Don't say that, Matt. Besides, you're only fourteen. If if he doesn't like you that way right now, you have four more years to get him to before he can even consider leaving Whammy's House. Put these on."

Jaz's abrupt change of subject left him reeling, and it took Matt a few seconds to notice that she was holding the DCs out to him. He took a step back. "No. Oh, no. I want my boots."

Jaz shook her head. "No. They don't go with your outfit, and there is no way I am letting you go clubbing in something you wear every day."

Matt looked pointedly at her boots. "You do."

Jaz waved a hand dismissively. "That's different. Now put these on. Or do you not want Mello to notice you?" She had a point.

Matt reluctantly took the shoes from her outstretched hand and put them on. The tops cleared the hems of his pants by a few centimeters, and he couldn't deny that the resulting look was exactly what he needed. "Thanks." he said. Jaz held out a necklace to him. It was just a plain black chain, a little thicker than hers. "Where did you even find this?" he asked, pulling the chain over his head with a little difficulty. When he finally succeeded, the chain hid under his shirt's collar, the v-neck letting a small amount show. Jaz hummed in response to his question, which really wasn't much of an answer.

Jaz smiled and nodded approvingly. She slid something through his belt loops, and Matt looked down to find that she had put a black belt on him. Silver chains draped from it, jingling melodically when he moved. "There." Jaz said, straightening and smiling happily. "Go check yourself out or something while I torture Mello." With that, she swept out of his room with a flourish. Grinning, Jaz sauntered down the hall until she reached Mello's room. "Hiya, Mells!" she yelled, throwing open the slightly ajar door.

"Jeez, give a guy a heart attack, why don't you." Mello griped from the bed. He was surrounded by clothing, all of it leather.

Jaz sauntered over to the bed and started throwing clothing behind her as she looked for something good that Mello could wear to the club. She finally stopped - ignoring Mello's outraged expression at her mistreatment of his precious leather - when she found the perfect pair of pants. They were black, and they had slits down the front that were about two inches wide. Cord zigzagged down the slits, holding them together. "These are sexy, Mells. Where'd you get them?" He shrugged. "Well, put them on, slowpoke!" She resumed looking through the pile of stuff after she threw the pants at her best friend. She found a zip-up leather vest, and she decided that it would go really well with the pants. "Here." she said, handing it to him. Then she went to go find a nice pair of shoes that he could wear. She came out after he had changed, holding a pair of combat boots not unlike her own. She took in the sight of her blonde, chocolate-addicted friend, shaking her head in disapproval. She set the boots down and walked up to Mello, unzipping his vest all the way. "There we go. Oh, Matt is going to love this."

Mello choked on air. How did she know that he liked Matt? "What? What does Matt have to do with this?" he asked, trying to pretend that she hadn't hit his feelings for his best friend right on the head.

Jaz tilted her head in mock-confusion. "Oh, so you don't like him like that?" Mello shook his head, stopped, and then nodded it. Jaz smirked. "You're confusing, you know that, Mells? No wonder poor little Matty is so oblivious."

"What... What are you talking about?" Mello asked.

Jaz shook her head. "Mells, haven't you noticed that he would do anything for you?"

"Yeah." Mello grunted. "It's what best friends are there for. Helping each other."

Jaz sighed, going to his desk and picking up the rosary that sat on it. She chucked it at Mello, who caught it and slipped it around his neck. "Yeah Mells, and that's why I need you to open your eyes and see what's right in front of you. You have it bad for Matt, and I bet he feels the exact same way. The thing is, your ego is too big to admit it, and Matt is just too freaking sensitive. I bet he thinks that you don't like him like that. You need to come off your high horse and tell him that you like him!"

"How did you know?" he asked.

Jaz looked at him like he was an idiot. "I've been friends with both of you for three years. I'm also highly observant. When you put those two together, well, you notice things. Not to mention that it is so blatantly obvious that you like each other. You two are just so blind you don't even see it."

Mello considered this. Then something dawned on him. "What if this whole clubbing thing doesn't work?"

"_Che_." Jaz scoffed. "It will. But if something goes wrong and one of you blows it, then I am going to lock you two in a closet together for however long it takes you to become an item." Jaz's face was dead serious, and Mello didn't have the tiniest doubt that she didn't mean her threat.

"Have you told Matt this?" he asked.

"No." Jaz said. "I'm more worried about you blowing it, so that's why I'm telling you." Mello was too busy pulling on the boots to be angry at her. Jaz tossed him a pair of fingerless black gloves. "Now," Jaz murmured to herself. "What are we going to do with your hair?" She fingered the silky strands, contemplating.

"No!" Mello yelled. He sprang away from her as if she had burned him. "My hair is fine the way it is."

Matt ran in, his hair styled so that it fell gracefully over one green eye. "What's going on? Are you okay?" Mello looked at him and his jaw literally dropped as he took in Matt's ensemble.

Matt did the same. "Wow." Mello said. "You... You look great." Matt positively glowed. There was just no other way to describe the way he looked right then.

"Okay, okay." Jaz said. She was ruining the moment and she knew it, but they were running late. They would have more time to bond at Nightshade. "Tone down the romantic, sappy love story until we get to Nightshade, 'kay?" Both boys nodded, still staring at each other, and Jaz smirked. She had succeeded. She flung her arms around the lovestruck fools and pulled them along with her.

The walk to the club wasn't very far; Nightshade was only about a block away. As they traveled down the well-lit street, they got many approving and jealous looks. When they finally reached the club, they skipped the line and Jaz showed the bouncer a VIP pass. How she had gotten it, neither boy knew. In any case, the bouncer smiled and let them by, ignoring the groans of the poeple who were standing in the long line. Jaz laughed at them. "Idiots." she mumbled to Matt and Mello as they walked through the door to the club. A blast of music hit them hard, the bass throbbing and nearly shaking the building. "OH YEAH!" Jaz yelled, already dancing. Matt and Mello shared knowing glances and joined her on the floor, rocking out in the middle of the crowd. They had so much fun, and finally Mello pulled Matt away from all the noise. Jaz immediately noticed and discreetly followed them, wanting to know just how Mello would express his feelings.

"Hey, Matt?" Mello asked, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Yeah, Mells?" Matt sat down on one of the couches and patted the spot next to him, silently telling Mello to sit down as well.

"I... uh... well, I... you see..." Mello narrowed his eyes in frustration, a light blush dusting his cheeks. "Ireallyreallylikeyouasmorethanafriend!" he finally blurted out in one long rush.

Matt couldn't believe his ears, and his face said so. "I didn't understand a word of that." he said. "Could you speak a little slower?"

Mello's blush darkened, and he growled before taking a deep breath. "I really, really like you, as more than a friend." Matt grinned widely and leaned over and kissed Mello on the lips. It was soft and gentle, just a peck, but that was all it took to bring Jaz out of her hiding place.

"YES!" she yelled. She pounced on the crowded couch, laying across the two startled boys. "I knew you two liked each other. Oh, you make the cutest couple!" she gushed. Matt and Mello blushed.

After hours of having fun, it was time to head back to the place they called home. As they walked out of the club, Jaz saw somebody who looked suspiciously like L standing in the shadows of the club. She looked ahead and saw Matt and Mello. They were only a few feet away, so she could go see why L had lied to her about the case. Did he just not like clubbing? As she approached the figure, though, something became apparent. This was not L. He was a little younger, maybe by a year, and he had ruby red eyes. "Hello, Jaz." His voice was also different, a little higher. He grabbed her wrist, and Jaz realized her mistake too late.

"MATT! MELLO!" she screeched, drawing the attention of the two boys. "HELP ME!" Her cries were silenced by a rag being thrown over her mouth and nose. She tried not to breath, knowing that the rag was soaked in chloroform, but she was going to pass out either way. She had to hold on, at least until her friends came to save her, but she couldn't. They were so close, but she had to breathe... She sucked in a large gasp of poisoned air, and black spots swam across her vision. The last things she saw were Matt and Mello's panicked faces.

* * *

"MATT! MELLO! HELP ME!" Jaz's cry of desperate terror made the boys stop in their tracks. Hadn't she been only a few feet behind them? They turned around and realized why she had wandered off. Beyond Birthday, or BB, had been hiding in the shadows, and he looked so much like L that of course Jaz would wonder why he was here instead of working on the case with Near. They ran toward them as BB produced a rag and held it over Jaz's mouth and nose. They could tell that she was trying to hold her breath until they got there, and that only made them run faster. They couldn't let BB take her. If he did, bad things would happen to her. BB was famous for being an evil, sadistic person who loved to scare little kids and hurt them. They were close enough to see Jaz take a wild, gasping breath. They were too late. Jaz's eyes fluttered shut, and BB tossed her into a black van that he had been leaning against. He flashed them a triumphant smile, gloating over his victory, and jumped in the van, locking it and driving off.

"We have to save her!" Matt cried, tears already threatening to fall. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.

_"Hello?" _came the voice of Jaz's adoptive older brother from the other end of the line.

"L, it's Matt!" he sobbed.

_"What is it? What is going on?"_ L's voice was panicked. Matt never cried unless something really bad happened.

"It's Jaz! BB got her! She thought he was you, he drugged her, and drove off in a van!" Matt started hyperventilating.

_"Matt, I want you and Mello to come back right now. If BB has Jaz then we need to hurry. There is no telling what that sick pervert will do to my little sister if we don't do something fast." _

Matt nodded before realizing that L couldn't see the motion. "Yeah, okay. I got the license plate number. We'll be there as soon as we can." He hung up and turned to Mello. "L wants us to come back right now."

Mello yelled in rage and punched a lamppost. "How could I have let this happen?" he yelled at the sky. "I was supposed to protect her!"

Matt grabbed Mello's wounded hand, and pulled on his arm until they were eye to eye. "Mello, we were both supposed to protect her. We both failed. Now, we have to go back to L, because he is the only one who can help us find her." he said firmly, staring into Mello's ice blue eyes. Mello nodded grimly and they both turned and ran to Whammy's House, never letting go of each other's hands.

L and Near were waiting for them at the door. "What happened?" L asked, glancing down at their joined hands and smiling a little. It was about time. Matt and Mello recounted the story, not leaving out a single detail.

Near was shaking. "We have to get her back. BB is evil, he could really hurt her."

"Yes. It is of the utmost importance that we get Jaz back." Mr. Whammy had come out of nowhere, surprising all four boys. "What did you say the license plate number was?" Matt repeated it, and Whammy's face drained of all color. That was a horrible sign. "Boys, Jaz is in much more danger than you know." he said, leading the boys into the elevator.

"What do you mean?" L asked, seeming to be the only calm one.

"Jaz's house was set on fire by a cult. We thought that they were all dead, but that license plate number is one that they used. If BB is in league with them, then Jaz is as good as dead."

Near gasped. "No! We need to save her!"

They emerged into L's room, which no one except for Near, Mr. Whammy, Jaz, and of course L had ever been in. They instantly got to work. They searched futilely for the rest of the night, but they finally had to go to bed. "Mello?" Matt asked, nearly in tears once again.

"Yeah?" Mello was quiet.

"Can I... I mean, I don't... I don't want to be alone." Mello smiled at Matt, but it didn't reach his eyes. He nodded. Near stepped out of the elevator with them, not wanting to be alone either, figuring that he would sleep on the floor if they didn't want him on the bed. Matt noticed that Jaz's door was ajar, and he pushed the door open, heading toward the bed and kicking off his shoes. Mello and Matt climbed onto the bed, and Matt held down his arms for Near. They seemed to realize that they were not the only ones who missed Jaz, and so they included Near, if only for a little while.

Mello hugged Matt from behind, and Near curled into Matt's chest. "Don't worry, guys." Mello said, trying to make his voice sound convincing. "We'll get her back."

* * *

**(Warning: This section of the chapter contains some really sick, violent material. If you are uncomfortable with torture, I would suggest you skip this section. This was really hard to write, because Jaz is one of my favorite OCs and I hate having to do this to her, but it will get better.)**

Jaz woke up in an unfamiliar, darkened room. The only illumination came from the red emergency lights that were still very dim. She moved her arms, trying to get into a more comfortable position, but she was only rewarded with the sounds of jingling chains. Her rubber bracelets were gone, as were her boots. Shackles surrounded her wrists, biting into the already raw skin and drawing blood. She hung by her hands from chains that were fastened at the ceiling. Her feet only just brushed the ground, and they were shackled to the wall behind her. Jaz growled and jerked on the chains, only succeeding in hurting herself further. A dark chuckle echoed throughout the room, and Jaz whipped her head to see... L? No, it wasn't L. It was the imposter, the guy who looked like L but wasn't. "Who are you?" she yelled angrily. "Let me go!"

"No, I don't think I will." His voice was smooth and lilting with a cadence that signalled insanity. Alarms instantly started going of in Jaz's head. If this man was insane, then there was no telling what he would do to her. He could kill her without even a second thought, and no one would know where she was. She had to stall him.

"Who are you?" she asked again, quieter now. Maybe if he thought she would be cooperative, he would consider letting her live, maybe even get rid of these blasted shackles.

"I am Beyond Birthday." Beyond laughed, the sound of it making the hairs on the back of Jaz's neck stand up in fear. But she didn't show it. Jaz only stiffened, remembering all the rumors about BB, the one who cut up puppies out of spite.

"So you're BB. I've heard of you." she tried to relax to no avail. There was no way her mind would let her body become more vulnerable than it was now.

BB chuckled. "Of course you have."

As BB moved closer, Jaz was getting desperate. She just had to keep him from killing her until L could save her. She knew that Matt and Mello had gone straight to the world's greatest detective. "Why me? I don't remember ever doing anything to provoke you or instill in you a desire for vengeance upon me." Her monotone was back, the emotionless barrier that she only put up in times of extreme stress firmly in place.

BB's eyes narrowed. "Because L likes you. He took you in, cared for you, you've even been in his room!"

Jaz scoffed. "_Che_. What has L got to do with any of this? And of course I've been in his room, I'm his little sister! There is no way he will let you get away with this. He will come after you, because I think that you have made him very, very angry. So, why don't you just-"

A resounding slap echoed through the room, and Jaz's head snapped to the side as BB's hand connected with the right side of her face. "You talk too much, Jaz Lawliet. I think I would feel better if you were screaming instead." BB punched her in the stomach, driving all the breath out of her lungs. "You. Don't. Get. L. He. Is. MINE!" BB punched her with every word, and on the last one he ripped off her tunic and produced a large knife. Jaz shivered as the cold air carressed her previously covered skin, but she froze when the blade of the knife touched her throat. BB moved the knife down her throat, over her collarbone, and right above her sternum gently, almost sensuously. "Let's hear you scream." He pressed the knife into her skin, drawing blood, and slowly, so slowly, he drew a straight line down her stomach to her leggings, pressing harder the farther down he got. Jaz writhed, biting down on her lip hard enough to draw blood. No sound escaped her, she wouldn't give this sick sadist that kind of satisfaction. It was only when his cold, slimy tongue started licking up the blood that poured from the wound that she voiced her terror. When he was done, he stood to meet her eyes, and she shuddered when she saw the stain around his lips. It was blood, her blood. "You taste so good." he purred, licking his lips.

"Back off, you crazy psychopath. Just let me go!" BB's eyes narrowed, and he stabbed the knife into her shoulder. She yelled as he removed it, burning pain shooting throughout her entire body. He licked the blood off the knife, watching with fascination as her life force drained onto the unforgiving stone floor. "Why... Why me?" she gasped, meeting his ruby eyes with her molten gold ones.

"Because you're just so innocent." He cut and cut for what seemed like hours, covering both of them in blood. Nothing except her face was untouched; her arms, her stomach, her legs - which he didn't bother removing the clothes from first - and finally, he reached the knife up, leaning it against her lips. "Lick." he urged. "Taste the control I have over you." Jaz kept her mouth firmly shut, and BB removed the knife, only to place the sharp edge against her temple. "I've saved the best for last." He moved to draw the blade across her flesh and scar her face, but a voice stopped him.

**(Okay, the torture scene is over.)**

"Beyond!" The girl the voice belonged to couldn't have been older than Near. She had spiky blue hair, gray skin, and a line of black crosses across her forehead. "What did I tell you about killing them? She's lost so much blood that it's a miracle she is still alive!"

BB dropped the knife in... fear? Could it be that Jaz's torturer was afraid of this little girl? "I'm sorry, Noah of Dreams. I just couldn't help myself, she tasted so good."

The girl's lip curled. "You're a sick, sick perv, ya know that? Now it's my turn to play with her, and she's no good dead!" BB flinched as she approached him, but she only kicked his groveling form aside and let Jaz down from her restraints.

Jaz couldn't do anything but collapse into the little girl's arms. "Thank you." she breathed before passing out. When Jaz regained consciousness, she was dressed only in her black bra and panties, and all her wounds were bandaged. The little girl sat beside her, holding her hand. "Who are you? Please don't hurt me."

The little girl, who BB had called Noah of Dreams, smiled. Gold eyes that matched Jaz's perfectly stared, looking bored. "I am Road Kamelot. And I'm not going to hurt you if you cooperate with me."

"Yeah, okay." Jaz readily agreed. "What do you want me to do?"

Road looked happy. "Let's play dress-up!" So they played. once, Jaz stumbled upon a room filled with robed figures surrounding a table. A girl was strapped down to it. She was really very pretty. She had long, black hair that splayed around her, and her silver eyes were the exact opposite of Jaz's. Road pulled Jaz along before the robed people could see them. "Don't ever interfere with them." she warned as piercing screams spilled from the room. "They will kill you, because you're the one they've been looking for." She motioned to the onyx X.

Jaz stiffened. "You mean, those are the people who killed my parents?" Road nodded and dragged Jaz to a tea party. Then, when they were done, BB dragged her away, and the awful cycle started all over again. The hours turned into days, the days into weeks,and the weeks into months until Jaz could no longer remember how long she had been a prisoner for. All she knew was that it had been long enough for every inch of her body, except her privates and her face, to become covered in scars. Every form of torture that had ever been devised had surely been used on her by BB. Electricity, brands, blades, dunking, everything. He had neglected to cut off body parts, which Jaz suspected was Road's doing. She had been here long enough to train herself to not react to anything at all. She was like a robot, and they hardly ever left her alone. The only time she was ever left alone was for one hour every night. She sometimes slept during that time, but not often.

Then, one day, the cult came in. They were carrying the girl that Jaz had seen so long ago. They chained her up, and then they left, promising to return after Jaz and the mysterious girl had their hour of sleep. "Are you okay?" asked the mysterious girl, eyeing Jaz. BB had just finished with one of his sessions, and the blood was crusting and drying. He had stopped licking her, and Road was sick of cleaning her up.

Jaz wearily lifted her head to face the girl. "No..." she rasped. She hadn't spoken a word ever since the day she had been kidnapped, after BB had taken her away from Road. Not even Road could get her to speak, so now the little Noah was angry at everybody all the time. She had even taken to hitting Jaz. "I don't remember... the last time I... had someone to talk... to... who wouldn't... hurt me..." she was breathing heavily from the effort it took to speak. This was the first time BB had broken a bone, and he had snapped three ribs.

The mysterious girl looked alarmed as Jaz started coughing. She tasted the familiar metallic taste of blood, and realized with a distant twinge of something - some emotion that she had long forgotten - that she was coughing up blood. "I can help you." the girl said. Jaz was still coughing, but she met the girl's eyes, silently urging her to continue. "I am a demon."

Jaz laughed. "A... demon?... Tell me... something... less unbelievable... Everyone... knows that... demons... don't exist..."

The girl smiled as well. "I understand your train of thought. There is no way you could possibly believe that demons do exist unless you have solid, real proof." Jaz nodded, groaning in pain as the movement hurt her ribs. The girl flickered, and suddenly she was right in front of Jaz. Jaz stiffened in surprise. "There," the girl said. "See?"

Jaz stared in incredulous disbelief. "I must be... going completely insane... yes... that's it... I've finally... snapped..."

The girl shook her head. "You humans are completely impossible. Show you something you absolutely cannot refuse, and you convince yourselves that you've gone crazy." Jaz just stared. The girl sighed. "Well, if I am truly a hallucination, then I would suggest you humor me."

Jaz breathed out a laugh. "Okay... what do... you want... from me?..."

"I want to make a deal. I state my terms after you state yours."

Jaz just tilted her head back as she thought. "I... I want... I want you to... get me out... of this... this horrible place... and... kill all... the cult members... and purify the... Noah inside Road... leave her alive... and bring her with... us... and I want... BB... to be arrested... the authorities... and my brothers... need to deal... with him..."

"Okay. That's a tall order, but nothing I can't handle. In return, I want you to perform a ritual that will allow me to experience human emotions, without becoming fully human. It will most likely kill you, unless you can find someone who loves you enough to die for you, someone who never knew you before BB kidnapped you. Someone who truly loves you for who you are now, and not because of their memories of you. You have to find them in the space of one year." The girl stopped so that she could breathe.

Jaz silently processed all that the girl was asking of her. "Okay... just... help me... please..."

The girl placed her hand over the onyx X, and a blinding pain shot through Jaz's body. It was 100 times worse than anything BB had put her through, but Jaz only let a few whimpers escape. This must be some new form of torture. Then, as soon as it had begun, the pain disappeared. The girl freed Jaz from the chains, and Jaz looked down to see that an intricate blood-red pattern circled her birthmark, and it expanded over her side and up her collarbone, and even down to the middle of her thigh. The girl had a scaled-down version of the same mark on her shoulder, swirling down her left arm. The girl gently set Jaz down, and she returned a few minutes later with an unconscious Road in her arms. "What do you want to call me?" the girl asked.

Jaz smiled, black spots swimming across her vision as the girl helped her to stand. "...Karma..." she sighed, leaning heavily on her savior. She let Karma drag her along, and after what seemed like forever, she finally squinted against the sunlight for the first that day she had been cruelly snatched from her family. Her sight was blurry, but she swore that there was a figure running up to them. It was a girl, and she looked worried. She had long, dark hair, and her eyes were huge and... purple? Her mouth was moving, but Jaz couldn't hear anything over the ringing in her ears. She turned to Karma just as darkness overwhelmed her.


	4. The Black Order

**Chapter 4: The Black Order**

Jaz couldn't open her eyes. A sound, something constantly beeping at regular intervals, was drilling into her head. Something was holding her down, and she couldn't move at all. She started to panic. "BB... No!" she yelled. "No, not the table, please!" She started to thrash, and the beeping intensified. "L! Matt! Mello! Near! Help, help me, please! Don't let him do this to me!"

Cool hands gently gripped her arms, and Jaz immediately relaxed, knowing that BB's hands were warm and calloused, not smooth like these. "Shh, it's okay." a girl's voice soothed.

"I can't see." Jaz almost sobbed, but her eyes were dry.

"Oh, I'm sorry." the voice said, and something was lifted from her head gently. She looked over as her eyes adjusted and saw that it was the girl from before, not Karma or Road, but the one they had run into when they left Jaz's prison. The girl was holding some white gauze.

"Was that on my eyes?" Jaz's voice was thick and hoarse from screaming and it still had unshed tears.

The girl nodded. "Yes. I'm Lenalee. I found you and your friends and brought you to the hospital. What is your name?"

Jaz furrowed her eyebrows. "I..." What was it? She had been there for so long she couldn't remember. All she knew were the names of the people she dreamed of whenever she got even a little bit of sleep. Didn't she have a necklace with her initial on it? "My necklace!" she gasped. She was able to free one arm, since she was only tightly wrapped in sheets. She groped around for her necklace. She knew that BB hadn't taken it. The only time he had tried, Jaz had ended up having a seizure. Road had forbidden him from ever touching it. Jaz started to shake.

"It's right here." Lenalee said, holding it out to her. Jaz struggled to sit up, but Lenalee gently pushed her back down and clasped the necklace around her throat. Jaz realized that she was only dressed in a hospital gown, and she lightly blushed, realizing that someone had changed her clothes. Lenalee smiled. "It's okay." she said in her gentle, foreign voice. "It was a female nurse who changed your clothes."

Jaz relaxed. "Thank you for telling me. I was worried. How did you find us?"

Lenalee shrugged. "I was on patrol, and my rounds took me to the warehouses. You were in pretty bad shape when I found you, though."

The door flew open, drawing the girls' attention. Lenalee stood, positioning herself so that her body was in between Jaz and the door. Jaz cowered backward, convinced that BB or someone else who posed a threat to her well-being had found her. But the men who faced her were people who she had never thought she would see again. "Jaz!" they yelled in unison.

Jaz's eyes brightened, and she forced herself onto her feet and stumbled into the arms of her nearest visitor. "L!" she cried, bunching his white T-shirt in her fists. "L." She finally lost all control of her emotions, and the floodgates opened. Tears coursed down her face in rapid succession, soaking L's shirt and making it see-through in certain places. L, Near, Matt, and Mello all stared at her with wide eyes, surprised that she was actually capable of tears. They had never seen her cry before. The other boys hugged Jaz as well, all of them participating in one giant group hug. Jaz looked at them, smiling happily. "Matt, Mello, Near. I thought about you every day. I never forgot about you, not ever."

Near looked up into her eyes, crying as well. "I never forgot you either, Jaz. You're my big sister, and I love you."

Jaz covered her mouth with one shaking hand. Not even her parents had ever said that to her. This was the first time in her whole life that someone had ever told her that. "You do?"

Mello nodded firmly, and Matt smiled. "Of course we do, J." the redhead said.

L smiled and hugged her tighter. "We all love you, little sis."

"BB had you for three years, Jaz." Mello finally spoke.

Jaz froze. "He what?" Her eyes were wide, and she had stopped crying. "You mean... I'm seventeen?" L nodded grimly. "Three years..." Jaz murmured, her tears stopping as her voice went icy and her face became calculating. "That's 1,096 days of consecutive torture." Lenalee gasped, but not loud enough for the others to hear her.

L stiffened. "What did he do to you, Jaz?"

Jaz smiled grimly. "Everything short of chopping off body parts. He just wouldn't let it end. I didn't make one sound after the first night, though. I wouldn't give him that satisfaction."

"Yes." Everyone's eyes snapped to the doorway, where a doctor stood. "I was highly surprised to find that none of your sister's wounds are going to scar. It's a miracle, to tell you the truth. I found signs of brutal torture."

L's voice had returned to its monotone as he asked the question that everyone except for Jaz was wondering. "What did this brutal torture consist of?"

The doctor looked at Jaz, who nodded her head and placed her hands over Near's ears. He gently removed them. "It's okay, Jaz. I need to know too." Jaz just nodded again.

The doctor looked L straight in the eyes. "This BB did horrible things to her. Your sister came in with 8 broken ribs, her whole body bruised and bloody, and I found burns, water damage, massive internal bleeding, even holes. It's really amazing how fast Jaz heals."

Everyone was silent. Jaz stood straight and tall. "He dunked me for minutes on end, until black spots swam across my vision. He stuck me with lots of sharp objects, not to mention hot pokers. There were lighters, cigarettes, and empty glass bottles involved. He would strangle me, he would cut me up, so deep you could see the bone. He also would strap me to a table. It was metal, and it was hooked up to a generator. When he turned it on, it conducted electricity. He turned it up high, but not high enough to kill me. Just enough for me to wish I was dead. That's not even the worst part. The worst part was that when he would cut me, he would lick up all the blood. I'm entirely certain that Road is the only reason I am still a virgin."

Everyone stared at Jaz in horror, but then something she said clicked in Near's mind. "Who is Road?"

Jaz smiled. "She was there to protect me. I was her playmate. She would patch me up after BB had his fun. She had to hit me, or BB would take me away from her. And Karma got us out. Karma is like my older sister. They tortured her too."

"I can take you to them." the doctor spoke up, still reeling form the extent of this girl's pain.

Jaz smiled. "Will you?" The doctor turned and led the way. The rest followed, with Matt and Mello supporting Jaz. They walked down the hall a little ways, and the doctor motioned to a closed door. L opened it, and Jaz tore away from the rest of them when she saw that Karma was awake. "Karma!" she yelled, throwing herself into the older girl's arms.

"Hey, ninja." Karma said affectionately. "You heal up fast."

Jaz rolled her eyes. "Of course I do. You've seen evidence of that." Karma just smiled, playing the role of big sister. "Is Road okay?" Jaz asked, looking pointedly at the white curtain that separated the two girls.

Karma nodded. "Yeah, of course she is. She's just taking it a little hard, is all." Jaz pulled back the curtain to reveal the sleeping form of the former Noah. She looked normal, for once.

Road stirred, rolling over to face Jaz as her eyes fluttered open. "Jaz!" she exclaimed, scrambling up onto her knees. "I am so, so, so sorry!"

Jaz smiled. "It's okay, Road. You had no choice."

Lenalee stiffened, realizing just who this girl was. "Road Kamelot." she said, her voice not revealing any of the hostility she felt.

Road's eyes widened in surprise when she saw the Chinese girl. "Hey, doll. Thanks for the save."

Jaz gave Lenalee a look that clearly said, _"We will talk about this later, but for now, don't bring it up."_

Lenalee forced herself to relax. "Well, let's get you girls dressed and out of here!" she said, forcing herself to sound cheerful.

Everyone agreed. L handed Jaz a duffel bag full of clothing. "I figured you would need this." he said. "I know BB, and his methods are very... messy. I had assumed that your clothing would be competely ruined."

"Thanks, L. You're a genius." Jaz said, hugging him and then returning to the room she had woken up in. She rifled through the duffel, finding a black and white striped long-sleeved T-shirt, black skinny jeans, black socks, and black combat boots. There was also a bra and a pair of panties. Jaz smirked to herself, realizing that most of the clothing was Matt's, except for the underwear, of course. She braided her knee-length white hair, muttering to herself about how she needed to get it cut. When she was done, a thick rope of hair hung over her left shoulder, dangling down to her waist. Someone knocked on the door. "Come in." she called.

Matt opened the door, closing it as soon as he was inside. "Hey. My clothes fit you. I was hoping they would." he said. He had an expression on his face, a mix of guilt, sadness, and self-loathing.

Jaz knew that look. "No. Don't you dare go blaming yourself for me getting kidnapped." Matt opened his mouth to deny it, but he closed his mouth when he realized that it was true. Jaz sighed. "Look, Matt, it was my fault. I should have stayed with you guys."

Matt smiled. "You know me too well, J."

Jaz smirked. "So, are you and Mello a couple yet?" Matt blushed and stayed silent. "I knew it! You are, aren't you?" He nodded. Jaz hugged him. "My work here is done."

Matt rolled his eyes. "You look good, Jaz, considering." Jaz slung an arm around her best friend, grinning, and they exited the room.

Mello hugged them both, clad in his usual leather getup. He quickly kissed Matt on the cheek, causing Matt to blush as red as his hair as Jaz squealed happily. "Hey, babe." he said. Jaz smirked wickedly, and pushed Matt so that Mello caught him as their lips touched. It turned into a full-on makeout session, and Jaz left them to their own devices. She found L a few minutes later. He was deep in conversation with Karma, and Near was talking to Road. Karma was dressed in the exact same outfit as L, which consisted of a long-sleeved white T-shirt, baggy jeans, and black Converse. Road was wearing a white T-shirt as well, and Jaz figured it was Near's. Road was also wearing white skinny jeans and white DC's. Jaz tried to imagine her little brother wearing those jeans and failed miserably. She snickered at the resulting image, alerting everyone to her presence.

"Hey, Jaz." Road said. She stood, her blue hair hung around her face, not up in its usual spiky hairdo. It stood out against the white of her clothes nicely.

"Hey, Road." Jaz hugged the girl who had tried to protect her against BB, even if it was only for her own gain. She was no longer a Noah, so she could be trusted. "How are you feeling?" Road understood the underlying message of _Is the Noah really gone?_

Road nodded. "Yeah, I'm actually feeling great. I feel the same way I did before all that happened. _The Noah is gone, and I feel the way I did before I was possessed._

Jaz smiled and turned to Karma. She and L stood side-by-side, and Jaz was shocked by their similarities. "You guys look like twins." she stated. The two people in question observed each other, laughing when they noticed what Jaz had noticed.

Lenalee cleared her throat, not comfortable to be so close to a Noah. She had no idea that Road was just a normal human once again. "Let's get out of here." she said. Everyone nodded, and Matt and Mello returned as soon as they all filed out the door.

Jaz laughed at their flushed cheeks and swollen lips. "Have fun, you guys?" Matt blushed, and Mello smirked. They continued out of the building, and Jaz reveled in the feeling of the sun on her skin. She listened to the sounds of footsteps that surrounded her, their group the only people in the area. But then she heard something else. It was a different pair of footsteps, and they were following from a distance. Jaz discreetly moved up through the group until she was by Karma and L, who were talking about some weird thing that they both had in common. They looked at her with interest, but she motioned for them not to acknowledge her. Confused, they complied. "We're being followed." Jaz murmured, so low they almost couldn't hear her.

Karma stiffened. "Tell Lenalee." she replied in the same manner, still pretending to talk to L. L just nodded.

Jaz shuffled over to Lenalee, who was walking by herself, a little apart from the group. "Yes?" Lenalee asked, looking up in surprise. Jaz repeated what she had told the other two. Lenalee snapped her gaze to meet Jaz's eyes, slightly stiffening at the resemblance they bore to the Noah's eyes. "Are you completely positive?"

"Yes." Jaz confirmed. "There are eight pairs of footsteps here, and that includes my own. That is just our group. And further back, about fifty yards, there is another pair of footsteps. They have been there ever since we left the hospital."

At that moment, their follower decided to make himself known. It was the doctor, and Jaz breathed a sigh of relief. She went over to see what he needed, her hands tingling the whole time for some unknown reason, but he kept his gaze on Lenalee and the coat she wore, which bore a strange silver crest. Suddenly his whole body seemed to bubble, and Jaz stumbled back in horror, a terrified cry catching in her throat as he exploded, morphing into a large, round monster. It was gray, and it had a black and white face twisted into a grotesque mask of sorrow. Multiple appendages protruded from all over its rotund form, and they bent until they were aiming for Jaz. Jaz's hands burned with a pain rivaling that of her experience with Karma a few hours previous. Lenalee shouted something that sounded suspiciously like "Innocence, activate!" and ran past Jaz's writhing body.

Everyone except for Lenalee, Road, and Karma retreated away from the creature, dragging Jaz along with them. "Jaz!" L yelled, trying to make her snap out of whatever was making her act like this. Then he noticed that her hands were glowing with a light that was so dark it was almost black. She yelled and spasmed once more, and everyone jumped back as something sharp shot out of both her hands. She stood, and everyone stared in awe. "Jaz..." L gasped. "Your hands!" Three blades that were as black as the onyx in her chest were coming out of her hands. They were spaced between her knuckles, so they looked suspiciously like claws.

Lenalee turned toward the commotion, momentarily distracted from the... whatever it was. Her eyes widened at the sight of Jaz's new developments. "You're an Exorcist?" she asked in disbelief.

Jaz looked at her. "I don't have any clue what you're talking about, but I do know that this has never happened before." Suddenly something caught her eye. "Lenalee!" she yelled. "Look out!" The creature was behind Lenalee, aiming its weapons at her. Jaz ran forward and flung Lenalee aside, careful not to touch her with her claws. She then executed a perfect backflip, kicking the disgusting thing in the face as she did so. When she landed, she kicked off of the ground, and her arms moved of their own volition, slicing her claws into the demonic creature. She pulled her arms close and spun, drillling through the hole she had just made. She hit the ground and rolled, coming up on one knee with her head bent just as the creature exploded behind her. The strands of hair that had come undone from her braid during the fight swayed in the air, finally coming to a rest as she lifted her head.

Silence. Everyone was speechless, even Jaz herself. "That was impressive." a new voice said.

Jaz stood and turned to face the newcomer, or newcomers, plural. Two men stood by Lenalee, and they looked to be around Jaz's age. The taller one was standing with his hands behind his head, as if he were laying down. He had shockingly bright red hair, even brighter than Matt's vermillion locks. They were held back from his face by a green headband. An eyepatch covered his right eye. The other eye was a bright, vibrant green. He was wearing a coat that reached the middle of his thigh. It bore the same crest as Lenalee's. Jaz shifted her gaze to the other man. Although his features were very feminine, Jaz could tell that he was a male because of his stature and the way he held himself. He had long, dark blue hair that, under closer inspection, turned out to actually be black. He had a katana strapped to his hip, and his cobalt eyes glittered with arrogance. He also wore the crested coat, but his reached his calves. "Lenalee," Jaz said, turning to the only person who seemed to know anything because she was too wary of these men to approach them directly. "Who are these men?"

Lenalee's eyes flashed with mirth. "How do you know that Kanda is a man?" she asked, gesturing to the feminine man. The redhead roared with laughter while the offended growled angrily.

Jaz crossed her arms. "_Che_. That was very rude of you. But, to answer your question, it is obvious. The way he holds himself, his stature, everything about him screams masculinity."

The redhead arched an eyebrow. "You are very observant."

Jaz stared him straight in the eye, and he stiffened at her resemblance to the Noah Clan. Her eyes were gold, and her ash-covered skin and hair were both a dark gray. "I know your companion's name, but not yours. Care to fill me in?" she asked, not failing to notice how rigid he had become. What was with these people, and why did they hate her eyes so much?

The man took a deep breath and plastered a smile on his face. to anyone else it would seem genuine, but Jaz instantly knew that it was false. "I'm Lavi Bookman." He held out his hand, and Jaz shook it.

She kept her face impassive as she mentally went over all the knowledge she had gained about the Bookmen from confidential government files. They were a top secret organization that went from place to place recording unbiased history. They were extremely smart and observant. "Well then, Bookman. Why don't you display a few of your skills and make an observation of me?"

Lavi's eyes narrowed. How did she know about the Bookmen? He would have to talk to her about that at a later time. For now, he just smirked. "You have obviously had a very hard life, with far more than your fair share of trials. You value your family and friends above all else, even risking your own life to keep them out of harm's way. You have a parasitic-type anti-Akuma weapon stored within your body, and-"

Jaz held up a hand, momentarily having forgotten that she and Lavi were not the only people who knew of this conversation. "Wait. What do you mean, parasitic-type anti-Akuma weapon? Is that was these are?" She held up her hand to display the claws and watched with shock as they shrank until there was nothing left of them except three little black marks on her skin where they had come out of her hands.

Lavi observed her expression. It didn't change at all as she cooly watched the claws disappear, but her eyes displayed shock that was gone so fast he wasn't entirely sure he hadn't imagined it. He was amazed at her control. She was almost as good as him, and he had years of training behind him. "Yes. You were born with innocence in your body, which manifested itself into claws when it sensed an Akuma was nearby."

"So that's what that was." Jaz murmured to herself.

The man known as Kanda cleared his throat. "Rabbit, Lenalee, we have to get back to the Order. Beansprout is probably wondering where we are, not to mention Komui."

Lenalee smiled. "Aww, Kanda, is that a heart I see in you?"

Kanda snapped his gaze away from Lenalee's. "_Che_."

Jaz eyed Kanda thoughtfully as his words sunk in. _Hmm, the Order_. she thought. _Isn't that what he said? Could he have meant the Black Order? Yes, I knew I had seen that crest somewhere! So this is what Lenalee meant by "Exorcist"_. "You mean the Black Order?" she voiced aloud. Three heads snapped in her direction. Jaz almost laughed at their expressions. Kanda's had suspicion clearly written all over it, Lavi was surprised, and Lenalee was just flat-out shocked. "Yes, I know about most top secret organizations this world conceals. I love being informed."

Lenalee spoke, since the other two were clearly at a loss for words. "You're going to need to come with us, becuase you have an anti-Akuma weapon and we need all the Exorcists we can get. Besides, you are aware that the Order exists, and we need to find out how."

Jaz smirked. "That one's easy. I just hacked into confidential government files one day when I was bored."

L chose this moment to step in. "You did what?"

Jaz inspected her nails, bored. "Come on, L. It's not like you've never done it."

L grinned. "It's not that, I was just not expecting you to already have done it. When did you do it?"

Jaz looked up at him, grinning as well. "I was, what, twelve? Thirteen? I don't know, but it was before-" she stopped, suddenly remebering that there were strangers present. "Well, you know." L nodded, knowing that Jaz didn't want Lavi or Kanda to know about her experience with BB.

Lavi watched their exchange, immediately knowing that Jaz was hiding something. He was going to get it out of her one way or another. They all started walking, heading toward the Order. Everyone except Lavi, Lenalee, and Kanda all turned down one road way before they were supposed to. "Hey! Where are you going?" Lavi asked.

Jaz waved a hand dismissively. "Anyone who goes to the Order is going to stay there for an indefinite amount of time. I'm just going to get my things." With that, she turned her back on them and continued walking, leaving the others to catch up.

They reached Whammy's House in no time, and the Exorcists shifted uncomfortably when they realized that it was an orphanage. "The weather's too nice to go inside." Matt said. "How about you go inside, Jaz, and the rest of us'll wait out here."

Jaz just shrugged. "I also need to get something." L said. "I will go with you."

Jaz smiled. "Okay, you guys, no drama of any kind while I'm gone. I don't want to miss out on any more than I already have." She looked at Mello pointedly. "That means no fighting, kissing, or other things that should not be done in public. Understand?" Mello smirked and Matt blushed. Near and Road were talking, completely oblivious. The Exorcists just looked confused.

"Are you sure?" Mello drawled.

Jaz smirked. "Yeah, I am. You can deal with it for the time being, or I will beat some sense into you."

Mello laughed. "You can try."

Jaz and L left, laughing. "Where is everybody?" Jaz asked when they entered the dark, still mansion.

"Mr. Whammy took them on another field trip. He left us behind because we weren't going anywhere without you."

Jaz smiled, showing her true self now that no one other that L was around. "That's sweet, L. But don't tell me you've been moping in this house for three years." She pressed the up button on the elevator and looked at L as she waited for it to arrive.

L looked at her. "No, we weren't. We just didn't go on any field trips." The elevator arrived at that moment. "Let's go to my room first." L said, swiping his card. He left Jaz in the elevator and quickly grabbed his laptop, putting it in a black protective case with an ornate L on the front. Next, they went to Jaz's room. Jaz took in the familiar sight of her old room. It looked the exact same as she remembered it, except the bed looked rumpled and the desk chair was a lot lower than it usually was. L followed her gaze. "Near, Matt, Mello, and I stayed in your room every night. I used the chair, they used the bed."

Jaz hugged L, holding back tears. "Thank you." she whispered, the lump in her throat not allowing her to do much more than that. She drew back after a few moments of silence and looked up to find L crying. "I missed you so bad." Jaz said. "There was never a single moment when I didn't think of you." L just rubbed her back soothingly. "The only thing I was scared of was that I wouldn't ever be able to see you again. Nothing BB did hurt more than that thought." She hugged him for a few more moments before going over to her desk and grabbing her laptop, which was already in its case. She also filled a small backpack with an empty journal, a little flash drive with a black cat keychain attached to it, her toothbrush, deodorant, brush, razor, wallet, and her i-Pod. She slung it over her shoulders, figuring she could buy anything else she needed. Suddenly, her hands started to tingle. She wrapped her hand around L's wrist and pulled him behind her. "We need to get out of here right now!" she yelled. L slammed through the huge window, shattering the glass. Jaz followed him just as the whole mansion burst into flames. She curled around her laptop protectively as she neared the ground. This was too familiar. She flashed back to when she was eleven, soaring through empty air and away from a burning mansion._ The past always repeats itself_. Jaz thought grimly as she crashed into something solid. She opened her eyes to find Matt sprawled underneath her. She scrambled off him as he gasped for breath. "I'm so sorry!"

Matt grinned. "Hey, it could've been a whole lot worse. Are you okay?"

Jaz mentally checked her body, making sure that everything was in working order. "Yeah, this doesn't even hold a candle to some of the stuff BB did to me. Besides, you should be worrying about yourself. I'm not the one who was knocked to the ground by a flying person." Jaz looked around. "What about L? Is he okay?"

"Yes." Jaz turned to find L behind her. "I landed on the pool."

Jaz looked over at the pool and was very surprised to find that the clear plastic covering was still intact. "How is it not damaged?"

L snickered. "Mr. Whammy was a very paranoid man, and with good reason. He suspected that some of the children would try to commit suicide by jumping out of the windows, so he placed the pool right below them and made sure that the covering could withstand a gunshot. It sinks with you, so you are cushioned and you don't hit the water like a rock. It's very smart."

Jaz pursed her lips. "How come I landed on Matt instead of the pool?"

L laughed. "You had a running start that I did not have, and your progress wasn't blocked by glass. You literally launched yourself over the pool."

Jaz was about to reply, but an explosion stopped her. She turned to see Lenalee, whose boots were glowing green around the ankles. She had just destroyed an Akuma. A yell brought Jaz's attention to Lavi, who was bringing a hammer the size of a car down on the head of an Akuma. He looked like he was having fun. Jaz felt more tingling in her hands and turned, stopping dead at the sight she was met with. Kanda was sailing through the air, his glowing blue katana held aloft as he bore down on yet another Akuma. He sliced through it effortlessly, landing softly as the Akuma exploded behind him. He glared at all of them, his face tightening when his eyes landed on Jaz. He stalked up to her, grabbing both of her wrists and bringing her closer to him. "How did you know?" he growled. Jaz arched an eyebrow and met his death glare head on, not even fazed by his distasteful behavior. When she didn't answer, Kanda elaborated. "You knew they were there right before anything happened, getting out just in time. How?"

Jaz stared at him, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Let me go." Kanda made no move to do so. "Let. Me. Go. Yuu." Shocked, Kanda dropped her hands. In response to his accusatory glance, Jaz decided to explain how she knew his first name. "The files I read on the Black order contained a list of all their active Exorcists. No pictures, just names. I have a photographic memory, so of course the instant Lenalee called you Kanda I remembered your name. Now, to answer your other question, which you so rudely asked, my hands tingle whenever an Akuma is around, like my claws are trying to get out. It's not terribly painful, but that might just be because I am used to worse." Lenalee flinched at that last sentence, remembering the condition Jaz had been in when she had found her. So much pain, so much suffering. It just wasn't fair. Lavi glanced at his friend, concerned. Jaz turned to the burning mansion, trying to quell the pain she felt at losing yet another home. "It's gone." she murmured. "Again... Why does this always happen?"

L hugged her. "It's okay, Jaz. You're my family, and I will never let you be homeless." Jaz whimpered so quietly that only L could hear it. "It's okay." he said again. "No one was hurt, so we are really very fortunate. Besides, you don't need a solid structure to have a home. I am your home. And Near, Mello, and Matt, too. We're all your family."

Jaz looked at him, and then at the Exorcists. "Maybe we could live at the Black Order until we can find another place to live. I heard that they have more than enough rooms. Over 3/4 of them are unused."

L nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, that could work. But, unfortunately, I will not be able to live there with you. There is a new case that I am working on, and it requires me to go to Japan."

Jaz nodded. "Okay, but at least take Karma with you. She's an invaluable asset." Confused, L just nodded, unwilling to do anything that might displease his sister even the slightest bit. Jaz went to talk to Karma, pulling her aside. When they were out of earshot of the group, Jaz explained the situation to the demon. "Karma," she said, pulling down the neck of her shirt to expose her contract symbol. "This is an order. Don't you dare let anything happen to L Lawliet that could kill him. If he dies, our contract is void."

Karma inclined her head. "Yes, milady."

They returned to the group. Karma and L got ready to leave, and Jaz hugged them both, saddened to be parting so soon. "Come back alive, understand? That's an order." Jaz didn't know who she was addressing: L or Karma.

"Of course, J." L said. "There is nothing in existence that could possibly take me away from my little sister. I will always return."

Jaz stared him down. "You better. If you don't, I will personally bring you back from wherever you are, whether it be life or death, and I will kill you. And then I will bring you back to life and never let you go."

L nodded solemnly. "I understand." Then they left.

Jaz's shoulders slumped the second her brother and demon sister were gone. Near hugged her. "He's not your only brother, you know."

Jaz smiled and hugged him back. "Yeah. Lenalee?" The Chinese girl looked at Jaz expectantly. "Lead the way."

Lenalee smiled, and they kept walking until they reached a dingy warehouse. Everyone was silent, but Road held Jaz's hand, both of them remembering the horrors of another warehouse exactly like this. Lenalee led them inside to an elevator, pressing the down button and swiping a card at the same time. The doors slid open silently, and closed when everyone was inside the spacious machine. Instead of going down, the elevator started going up. "Only members of the Black Order have the card. If anyone who doesn't have the card presses the button, the elevator will take them down to the bottom level of the warehouse, where another elevator is waiting to bring them back up. The second elevator is filled with a gas that slowly erases their memories of that whole day, so they forget they were even here. We can't have civilians just stumbling upon the Order by accident." Lenalee explained, seeing the confused expressions of Near, Matt, Mello, and Road.

Road tugged on Jaz's hand, silently asking her to bend down. Jaz comlied, and Road whispered in her ear. "The Exorcists knew me when I was a Noah, so they do not trust me. They don't know that the Noah inside me is no more. They just think that you stumbled across me and decided to take me in. You need to tell Lenalee the truth."

Jaz closed her eyes briefly, as though she was in pain. "But how do I explain the disappearance of the Noah? I hardly think that they will believe a demon took care of it." she whispered in Road's ear.

Road pursed her lips for a moment, deep in thought. "Tell her that one of the cult's experiments rebelled and attacked me, and it did something to the Noah inside me, killing it. It is not a lie, nor is it the entire truth. Win-win."

Jaz nodded and straightened, then motioned for Lenalee to come over. She told Lenalee, who looked at Road for a long time before finally nodding. Lenalee, making sure that she was in plain view of Kanda and Lavi, knelt down by road and hugged her. Road immediately hugged back. "I trust you, Road Camelot." Lenalee whispered. "Don't make me regret it." Road hugged Lenalee tighter in reply. Lavi trusted Lenalee's decision, so he smiled at Road, and Kanda, being his usual anti-social self, only reacted by no longer looking at Road with the intent to murder her.

The elevator dinged, putting a stop to the quiet display. Lavi's eye brightened, and he grabbed Jaz's hand, tugging her out into a stone corridor. "Welcome to the Black Order!" he declared cheerfully.

"LENALEE!" someone yelled. Thudding footsteps resounded across the corridor, seeming to come from everywhere at once.

_My family_! Jaz thought, panicked. Suddenly, her claws unsheathed themselves, glittering darkly. She whirled, standing in front of Matt, Mello, Near, and Road in a defensive position. She pointed her claws at the oncoming threat, who stopped dead in his tracks. It was a Chinese man in a white suit. He looked terrified. Jaz slightly relaxed, bringing her claws back to bar his path to the ones she was protecting.

"It's okay, Jaz." Lenalee said, coming to stand by the man. "This is my brother, Komui Lee. He was just excited to see me, that's all. There's no threat you need to protect them from."

Komui eyed Jaz's claws with interest. "Is that Innocence?" he asked. Jaz nodded warily. "Excellent!" He clapped his hands like a child. "We must perform tests! Come on, come on!"

Matt laughed and shoved her forward before returning to Mello's embrace, blushing slightly at the contact. "It's okay, J. Mells will protect us if anything happens." Jaz looked at the Exorcists, as if daring them to make fun of her friends for being gay.

"Ooh, are you two a couple?" Lenalee asked, looking delighted. Mello smirked and held Matt tighter while Matt just nodded. Lavi was... blushing? Okay, weird. Kanda looked no different than he usually did: disgusted, arrogant, contemptuous, and otherwise superior.

Jaz finally felt comfortable enought to relax. _It's okay, they're okay_. Surprisingly enough, her claws sheathed at that thought. "Let's go, Komui." Jaz said.

Komui clapped his hands once again and turned on his heel, obviously expecting Jaz to follow, which she did. "This is wonderful. We are terribly outnumbered against the Earl."

Jaz looked at him inquiringly as the stepped into a very messy office. Papers and books covered every available surface except the desk. "Which Earl are you referring to?"

"Hmm?" Komui asked, peering at her over his glasses.

Jaz groaned internally. "There are many Earls, at least three in London alone. Ciel Phantomhive, Alois Trancy, and Lord Millenium. Which of them are you speaking of?"

Komui arched an eyebrow. "The Millenium Earl is the one who creates Akuma. I do not know if Earl Phantomhive or Earl Trancy are in league with him."

Jaz bristled. "So he is the reason my second childhood home went down in flames. Speaking of which, I have a favor to ask." Komui motioned for her to continue. "I would appreciate it if you would allow Matt, Mello, Near, and Road to reside here until further notice."

"Now why would I do that?" Komui asked. He didn't think it was a good idea, not a good idea at all.

Jaz narrowed her eyes at him, putting him through multiple painful procedures in her mind. "Because it will benefit you. Road used to be a Noah, so she could give us information about the Noah Clan. Matt is a genius who specializes in technology of any sort. Near is also a genius, and he is at the same level as L, the greatest detective in the world. And Mello was raised by a member of the Mafia. He could teach the Finders and inexperienced Exorcists martial arts, not to mention he would make a fabulous bodyguard."

Komui stared at her, and she stared right back, unblinking. He was the first to give in, losing the battle. "Why would anyone need a bodyguard trained in the Mafia? He isn't an Exorcist, so there is no way he would be able to fight Akuma."

Jaz looked at him, flooded with painful memories. "Akuma are not the only things that people need to be protected from." she told Komui. He looked at her, and she let him see the pain in her eyes for a few moments before replacing the wall.

Staggered at the immense suffering Jaz had obviously gone through, Komui conceded. "Alright, but they cannot stay here forever. We will eventually need to find them a home. Now, let's perform those tests." He led her to a medical room not unlike the one she had woken up in just that morning. A lot had happened since then. She heard Lavi's footsteps, along with those of another man, very old from the sound of it, following them. She chose to keep this information to herself for the time being.

Komui revealed many large drills, and Jaz didn't even bat an eyelash. She had known that there couldn't be anything good in store for her when Komi had said the word "tests". Lavi and his companion, who happened to be Bookman himself, listened outside the door as the sounds of drilling could be heard. Surprisingly, no screams accompanied them. Almost everyone screamed terribly when Komui conducted the tests. Sometimes Lavi wondered what asylum Lenalee's big brother had escaped from. When the drilling stopped, Jaz spoke up. "Komui, I don't know if you are aware of this, but Lavi Bookman and an older man followed us from your office. They are listening outside the door right now if you wish to confirm this information." She flung the door open, and Lavi could only blink in shock at the girl's skills. She hadn't even seen them!

"Hi." Lavi said, regaining his composure. "Jaz, this is Bookman. Bookman, this is Jaz."

The two shook hands, and Jaz's eyes were sparkling with interest. "So, you are Bookman?" The old panda nodded the affirmative. "I've been dying to meet you. Apparently, your skills are unmatched. I would like to test that theory at a later date."

Bookman smiled creepily. "Of course, Jaz."

Jaz smirked, and then Komui grabbed her by the elbow, literally dragging her out of the room. "Lavi, Booman," Komui warned. "No more eavesdropping." While they walked, Komui turned to Jaz. "You seemed unaffected by the tests. May I ask why? Most others at least cry."

Jaz smiled thinly. "I will disclose that information at a later date. Tell me, did Kanda cry?" Komui nodded, surprised at this question. "Ah, so he isn't an antisocial robot, as I previously assumed." She could hear Lavi roaring with laughter from the room they had just left.

Komui chuckled. "Yes, he is quite human."

Jaz smiled, and they walked in silence. "Jaz!" she heard someone call. She turned to find Road running to catch up.

"Hey, Road." Jaz's stiff, formal demeanor was gone, and in its place was a smiling teenage girl. "What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing." Road said brightly, rocking back on her heels. "I just saw you walking and figured I would walk with you, since this guy doesn't seem to be entertaining you."

Jaz laughed. "Be nice, Road." She held out her hand, and Road grabbed it, smiling happily. as they walked, the two girls talked about lots of things. Komui listened with interest. They were almost as close as sisters. "So, Road," Jaz said, smiling evilly. "Do you have a thing for my little brother?"

Road blushed bright pink. "D-Do you m-mean N-N-Near?" she stuttered. Jaz nodded, still grinning that wicked grin of hers. "N-No! Of c-course n-not!"

Jaz grinned wider. "You totally do." Road hung her head in defeat, finally admitting it. "I knew it." Jaz said triumphantly. "I am so good at this kind of thing. I'll tell you what. Because I am such an awesome matchmaker, I will see what I can do about setting you up with Near."

Road's eyes widened. "Really? Are you serious?"

Jaz struck a pose, flinging her still-ashen hair over her shoulder. "Of course I am. I am awesome." Komui laughed, noticing that she reminded him of someone. Oh well. He would remember who it was sooner or later.

"Ugh." A new voice said disdainfully. "Get out of my way."

Jaz whirled angrily to find a man in a black and gold jacket towering over Road. He had long, red hair, a little darker than Lavi's, and one of his eyes was covered in a huge white eyepatch. "Who are you to give us orders?" she growled, her claws sliding out defensively. She kept them at her sides, knowing that the jacket could only mean one thing. This man was a General. She had to tread carefully.

The General scoffed, eyeing her claws. "Are you going to attack me?"

"Answer the question, then we'll see, _General_." Jaz sneered, her lip curling.

The General's eye widened. She knew what power he held, and yet she insisted on being insolent? Well, he would have to put her in her place. "I am Cross Marian. And you are in my way."

Jaz grabbed Cross by the lapels of his jacket and pulled him down so that they were eye-to-eye. "I don't care who you are, you will not speak to me like that."

Jaz released him. "I apologize." he spat.

Jaz waved a hand dismissively. "I don't care whether you are sorry or not. Although, I do wonder why you are glowing."

Cross looked down at where Jaz's finger was pointing and was beyond surprised to find a faint green light emanating from the breast pocket of his jacket. He reached into it and brought out a piece of innocence. It looked like a few gears and was glowing a calm green color. He held it out to Jaz, and she just stared at it in confusion. Nothing was happening. He held it out to Road, and it glowed brighter. Surprised, Road reached out and touched it. Everything exploded into white light. Road yelled in surprise, and the light disappeared as soon as it had come. "What..." Road asked, noticing that the innocence had vanished. She looked around, but it was nowhere to be found. Then she noticed a silver bracelet encircling her wrist that hadn't been there before. It had many charms, and it jingled when she shook her hand. "Jaz?" Road asked.

Jaz looked at Cross questioningly. "That was innocence." he said gruffly. "It chose the girl to be its new Accomodator. She is now an Exorcist."

Jaz smiled. "Once a Noah, now an Exorcist. See, Road? Things do get better. This is just Fate's way of giving you a way to atone for the crimes you commited as a Noah."

Cross huffed and stalked off, and Komui and the girls proceeded to go even further into the depths of the Black Order. "And here we are!" Komui declared a few minutes later. They were standing on an upside down pyramid of sorts. Suddenly, it started moving just like an elevator.

It took them deep into a cavern, where a glowing silver mass awaited them. "Welcome, Jaz, Road." The echoing female voice seemed to come from everywhere. Jaz looked closely and was surprised to find that the silver mass was actually a very large person. A tentacle reached out, wrapping itself around Jaz, who instantly went limp. Whatever was going on, she trusted Road to protect her if things got bad and she couldn't use her claws. "Syncing... 30%... 53%... 70%... 95%... 100%." Gasps sounded around the room as the silver woman set Jaz back down and picked up Road. "Syncing... 12%... 18%... 32%... 46%... 50%... 63%."

Komui smiled. "Let's get you some uniforms."


	5. Bonding With Kanda

**Chapter 5: Bonding With Kanda**

Komui led Jaz and Road up a few flights of stairs, stopping outside of one room that had no plaque. "This will be your room, Jaz." he said, and then he and Road walked off to find Road's room.

Jaz slowly opened the door, and she was met by a very nice sight. The room was spacious, with a queen-size bed and a large desk and dresser. A window let lots of sun in, and it even had a little day bed so that Jaz could sit and read. Another door led Jaz into a large bathroom, complete with a shower, toilet, bathtub, and vanity. She set her backpack on the bed just as a knock sounded at her bedroom door. "Yes?" she called.

"It's Kanda." the antisocial samurai replied. "I have your uniform."

Jaz opened the door to find Kanda leaning against the doorframe haughtily with a package in his hands. "Thanks, Kanda. Do I have to put it on immediately, or can it wait?"

"_Che._ I'm not your keeper, how should I know?" With that, he turned and strode off, leaving Jaz to wonder just who had peed in his Cheerios.

She set the box on her bed and opened it. What she pulled out of the box almost made her choke on air. There was a teensy miniskirt that was somehow attached to a skimpy top that would barely cover up anything. A pair of thigh-high boots were also included, along with fishnet tights. A vest affixed with the Black Order crest topped it all off. "Are you serious?" Jaz gasped to no one in particular. "This looks ridiculous! There is no way I am wearing this at all. I'd look like a hooker." She sat down in front of her laptop and ordered a few things, giving them coordinates to right outside her window. A few minutes later, a little flying robot appeared, with a few boxes hanging from its back. Jaz opened the window and let it in, retrieving her purchase and removing the robot's memory before chucking it out the window. She opened the boxes and puled out tons of clothes that she had missed terribly. Band tees, skinny jeans, combat boots, you name it, she most likely had it. But the last box was what she had been waiting for. It contained a sleeveless black catsuit that was almost skin-tight, a sleeveless hooded duster that hung to her calves, and a pair of black combat boots with hidden sheaths for knives and other weapons. She also found a plain black choker and a pair of gloves, which she cut little slits into so that they would be able to be worn without getting destroyed by her claws. She took the crest off of the awful vest that she had been given and attached it to the choker. After she bathed and dried her hair, she put on the catsuit and found that it had one belt loop on the right side, through which she slid a studded belt that had little sheaths for various weaponry. She put on the choker that she had modified, and she also put on the duster, flipping the hood up before she went to stand in front of her full-length mirror. The resulting look was both unexpected and pleasing. She looked dangerous and mysterious, and the glinting crest signified that she was indeed an Exorcist. Jaz hummed and put away all her new clothes, keeping the awful uniform that she would never wear out so that she could give it back to Kanda. She put it back in the box it came in and exited her new quarters with one last look to make sure everything was in order.

"What are you wearing?" Kanda asked as she rounded a corner and almost plowed him over. He had an unreadable look in his eyes, one that Jaz was extrememly wary of.

She shoved the box into his hands and sauntered past him. "Why should you care?" she called over her shoulder. "You should be glad that I didn't decide to wear the uniform I was previously given. It looks awful. Whoever designed it should be fired." Kanda shook his head and watched her walk away. Jaz kept walking until she found a room with the door ajar. She pushed it open and found a piano just waiting to be played. She sat down in front of the gorgeous instrument, just resting her fingers on the keys. A song would come to her in time. And, sure enough, it did. Her fingers coursed across the keys as she strained to remember what song it was. She recognized the melody to be River Flows In You by Yurima. Her mother had played it for her every day for eleven years, and Jaz had never forgotten it. She swayed as the haunting song rang through the air, drawing anyone who heard it toward the sound. Jaz didn't stop playing even as she heard someone sit in the chair behind her.

"That is a beautiful song." The voice didn't belong to anyone she knew, so Jaz figured that it was safe to tell him her story. He couldn't see her face, and she couldn't see his, so they would forever remain anonymous.

Little did she know that she had a bigger audience than just the boy behind her. "Yes, my mother played it for me and my twin brother the day we were born. It's really a shame I never knew him." Her companion remained silent, waiting for her to continue. "He was kidnapped. The nurse took him away, and I never got to see his face. But my mother told me about him. She said that she could just tell that he would have been very protective of me. She said that he was one of the two cutest things she had ever seen, and that he reached for me before the nurse took him away." Jaz smiled sullenly, still playing. "It would have been nice to get to know him. I've always wondered what he was like. Was he nice? Was he strong? Would he protect me when the kids at school turned on me? Maybe things would have been different if that witch hadn't been so cruel." Jaz didn't even notice the tears silently coursing down her cheeks and neither did anyone else as her voice remained strong. Her tears were for her and her alone. "My mother played this song for me every day for eleven years. And then, one night, a cult attacked our estate, setting it on fire. They called me a witch and tried to kill me, all because of a stupid birthmark that turned out to be Innocence embedded in my flesh. It's my fault my parents are dead. I ran, and I couldn't do a single thing to save them." Jaz was shaking, and the boy behind her wanted to comfort her but wisely remained seated. "I fled from America to England, and three years later I was kidnapped. The man who kidnapped me tortured me daily, for hours on end. I never cried, I never screamed, I just hoped that my family would come rescue me. Maybe it's better that I never met my brother, because wherever I go, trouble seems to follow." Finally, Jaz stopped playing, giving into her sorrow.

The boy came to her side and hugged her, and surprisingly, she hugged back. "I'm sorry." he said after a few moments of silence, the only sound being that of Jaz's tears.

Jaz looked up at him, and they both stopped dead. It was like staring into a mirror, only their eye colors were different. Jaz looked at the boy, her mirror image. He had white hair just like her, and his eyes were a bright silver instead of her molten gold. He had a scar across his eyes, and he was wearing gloves. "Your hand." she gasped, grabbing the hand that his Innocence could be found in. "Do you have a green cross on the back of your hand?" The boy nodded, stunned, and mechanically removed the glove to show her his hand.

After a few minutes of stunned silence as Jaz stared at the person she now knew to be her brother, they hugged. "I'm Allen Walker." said her twin.

Jaz drew back, smiling again. "Jaz Lawliet."

They turned toward the door when they heard light clapping. "This is fabulous!" The clapper was Lavi, and he was accompanied by Matt, Mello, Near, Road, Lenalee, and Kanda. Their expressions ranged from shock to delight although Kanda was, as usual, unreadable. "I just knew you reminded me of someone, Jaz!" Lavi declared, strutting into the room and draping himself across Jaz's shoulders.

Jaz laughed. "If I didn't know better, Lavi, I'd say you were hitting on me."

Lavi smirk and drew back. "Would you rather I was hitting on Allen?" he asked, proceeding to cuddle up next to Jaz's twin.

"Ew! Get off!" Allen yelled, shooing Lavi away. Jaz didn't fail to notice the blush that colored both of their faces.

Kanda cleared his throat. "We don't have time for your games, Baka Usagi." he sneered. "We actually came to get you two." he said, gesturing to Allen and Jaz. "We need to report to Komui's office immediately."

Lavi smirked. "My name is Lavi, Yuu, not Idiot Rabbit."

Kanda just huffed and turned away, fully expecting them to follow him. What he did not expect, however, was for Jaz to throw an arm around his shoulders and grin widely. In her boots, she was almost as tall as he was. Allen and the others waited with bated breath to see what would happen. Kanda looked at the others, then to her. The others looked like they expected him to flip out and run her through with Mugen. He decided to do quite the opposite, because, contrary to popular belief, he was not a savage who turned to violence to solve every problem. Besides, he was surprised to find that her arm was warm and... comforting. He glared at her and sighed in defeat, but it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be to just give in. The others shared surprised glances and followed the pair silently. "So, Kanda." Jaz said after a few moments of deafening silence. He grunted in reply. "How come everyone is afraid of you?"

Kanda looked at her in surprise. Was that true? Did everyone fear him? His tactics to distance himself from others worked better than he thought. "Technically, that statement is incorrect. You don't seem to fear me."

Matt laughed and chose this moment to join the conversation. "She's not scared of anything. Right, Jaz?" Jaz smiled and nodded at him, but upon closer inspection, Kanda could tell that the smile was less genuine than Jaz wanted everyone to believe. Matt slung his arm around his best friend's shoulders as his boyfriend wrapped an arm around his waist. "Our fearless leader." Matt remarked, his eyes glazing over as he remembered the good times.

Jaz burst into laughter, hanging onto Kanda so that she wouldn't fall over. "Oh my gosh, do remember that one time we set fire to the pool?"

Lavi cocked an eyebrow. "How did you manage that?" he asked, truly curious.

Mello smirked. "It was Jaz's idea, actually. She found a stash of liquor in Mr. Whammy's private cellar and decided to get rid of it in the most creative way possible."

"So, we poured it all in the pool." Matt continued.

"Since it was less dense than the water, it floated to the top." Jaz smirked triumphantly, remembering the expression on Whammy's face when he had found out.

"We struck a match and the whole thing went up in flames!" the three finished the story in unison and dissolved into laughter once again.

Kanda watched them with an unfamiliar feeling in his heart. He wondered what it was like to have friends. Sure, they weren't vital to survive, but they would most certainly take some of the stress off of his shoulders. "Kanda," Lenalee said quietly, coming up beside him to murmur in his ear. "Are you smiling?"

Kanda realized with shock that an expression had made its way past his carefully constructed walls. "No." he said, before fixing the problem.

Lenalee just smiled knowingly. They arrived at Komui's office without any problems, and Near, Road, Matt, and Mello all hugged Jaz before leaving to explore their temporary home. "Ah, you're here!" Komui declared. He noticed Jaz's outfit and sulked. "Why aren't you wearing your uniform?" he asked, looking disappointed.

Jaz waved a hand over her outfit. "This is my uniform."

"But," Komui looked desperate. "What about the uniform I had Kanda give you?"

"Did you pick that out?" both Kanda and Jaz asked at the same time. They glanced at each other before turning their coldest glares onto Komui.

He shrunk back. "Well, yes, but your current outfit is fine."

Lenalee glared at her brother before turning to Allen's twin. "What did he want you to wear?"

Jaz sighed. "It could pass as underwear, let's leave it at that."

"Komui!" Lenalee admonished. Allen and Lavi joined the glaring contest, and soon everyone present in the room was angry at Komui with the exception of himself.

Komui recoiled. "Well, I'm just glad that you have exceptional designing skills. Maybe on your free time, you can design outfits for the others?"

Jaz just shrugged. "What did you call us here for?" Kanda asked, angry that his precious time was being wasted by a bunch of immature teenagers.

"Right, right." a flustered Komui said, glad for the distraction from his fashion incompetence. "Back to business. We have found signs of Innocence in France, and we would like you to check it out. All of you, because the Noahs are rumored to be there as well."

"If the Noahs are there, then Road has a right to come with us. After all, they were her family, in a sense." Jaz declared, ignoring the others' scandalized looks.

"Yes, I already went over it with her. She told me to tell you that it is better that she not see them for a while. It will give her the element of surprise, and it is in her best interest for the time being. She also says to bring David back with you."

Jaz's eyes opened wide. "She wants us to do what?"

"Bring. David. Back. With. You." Komui said slowly and clearly.

Jaz faceplamed and turned away from everyone's prying eyes. "How in the world are we supposed to kidnap a Noah without getting seriously injured in the process?" she muttered to herself.

Kanda's exceptional hearing picked up on it, and he grabbed her by the shoulders, spinning her around to face him. "You're not actually considering it, are you?" he asked incredulously.

Jaz lifted her chin and stared him right in the eyes. "She wouldn't let BB do anything extreme to me, so I owe her this much." She didn't elaborate, but Allen gently pried her away from Kanda.

"Who is BB?" he asked, dreading the answer.

Jaz looked at him, her gaze cold and hard. Her eyes softened and she looked away, unable to look him in the eye. She took a deep breath. "When we were in the room with the piano, I mentioned something about being kidnapped and tortured. Well, when I was fourteen, I went to a club with Matt and Mello. I saw someone who looked like L, but I realized too late that it was actually BB, another orphan who is dead set on surpassing L and hurting him as much as possible. BB knocked me out with chloroform and took me to a warehouse. When I woke up, I was chained up in a dark room, and BB came in and tortured me. He did really awful things every day for three years straight." She shuddered, sneaking a glance at Lenalee, who was also shuddering as she remembered images of finding Jaz beaten and bloody, and remembering what Jaz had told her about the torture. "Road wouldn't let him rape or kill me. I am in her debt."

Lavi eyed her pityingly, but also with a hint of suspicion. "If you were tortured so badly, then where are your scars?"

Jaz flinched and shrugged out of her duster, leaving her in the catsuit and revealing her Innocence cross and part of the red contract symbol that surrounded it. "There is a type of... technology... that hides certain things on my body. It is activated acording to my brain's desires, and so I choose to keep the scars hidden. It also helps to heal me very fast." Kanda could tell that this was not the whole truth, but decided not to comment on it. Jaz scrunched up her face in concentration, and the symbol flashed as gold as her eyes before going black. Her skin seemed to ripple as the scars resurfaced, drawing gasps from her audience at the severity of them. There were terrible burns, cuts, and bruises all over.

Kanda was instantly by her side, shielding her from everyone's prying eyes. He understood pain all too well, and his Lotus Spell worked in a very similar way to the red mark. "Hide them again." he said, feeling sad for the first time in many years. He even felt tears pricking at his eyes, but he held them back by sheer force of will. He was too strong to cry. He also saw that Jaz was holding back tears. "They have their proof. They don't need to see any more."

Jaz nodded and hid the scars again, feeling a little guilty at hiding the whole truth from her brand new friends. She put her duster back on. "I'm sorry." Lavi said, hugging her gingerly, as if she would break any moment.

Jaz shoved him away, a little harder than she meant to, and drew herself up to her full height. "Don't you dare pity me or treat me any different. You're not going to hurt me just by touching me. It's not like I haven't experienced worse, and this technology blocks off my pain receptors. Even if I was in pain, I would not know it. And I have had these since I met you, and I don't recall being hurt whenever you pulled your weird stunts. Do you?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. Lavi was silent. "Yeah, that's what I thought." She turned to Komui, ignoring everyone's shocked and pitying looks. "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow." Komui said quietly, not willing to meet her eyes.

Jaz scoffed. "_Che_. This is why I don't show pain." she muttered. She spun on her heel, her duster flapping behind her, and stalked out of the room.

Kanda looked at her retreating back with a newfound sense of respect. Jaz was a girl who stayed strong, even in the face of danger, and put her family's needs high above her own. "I never knew how bad it really was." Lenalee said. Four pairs of eyes snapped to her. "When I found her, she was covered in blood. You couldn't even tell that her hair was white. The doctor said that she had extreme internal bleeding, multiple broken ribs, and she had lost over three quarters of her blood."

Kanda glared at her coldly. "Shut up." he said. Everyone looked at him, outraged. "It's not your place to tell us of her condition. She doesn't want us to pity her, so that is exactly what we will not do. She doesn't need your pity, she needs your support."

He turned around and was about to leave when Allen's voice stopped him. "What about your support? Or are you so high and mighty that you find everyone else's needs inferior to your own?"

Kanda walked out, replying under his breath, so low that only he could hear it. "She already has it."

* * *

Jaz stormed to her room, angered beyond belief. They hadn't hurt her before, so why did they choose now to treat her like a piece of glass? She realized that she needed to vent out her anger and stress before she broke something. She went into her room and closed the door behind her before changing into a slightly see-through white camisole and a pair of white capri sweats. She remained barefoot and wandered throughout the halls of the Black Order before she came upon a training room. It was equipped with everything from weapons to punching bags to medical supplies. "Now's as good a time as ever to get used to these things." she muttered to herself as she focused on unsheathing her claws. True to her desires, her beautiful black claws slid easily out of her hands. She practiced martial arts with her claws for a bit, spinning and kicking and slashing until she decided that she should do something else. She sheathed her claws without stopping as she slid easily from using them as weapons to perfecting her fighting techniques barehanded. She moved fluidly, like flowing water. A sheen of sweat glittered on her skin, and she was glad she had decided to tie up her hair before leaving her room.

* * *

Kanda was walking past the training room when he saw movement inside. He stopped in the doorway and watched as Jaz practiced. He observed with awe as she sheathed her claws and started throwing punches without even missing a beat, shining with sweat. He could see through her camisole that her bright red mark extended far past her collarbone, spiraling down her side and under the waistband of her pants. Jaz reached for a sword that was hanging on the wall and started touching up on her swordplay. "You know you don't have to just stand there like a creeper." Jaz said as she swung the sword with ease.

Kanda smirked, which is something he hadn't done in a long time. He stepped into the room while pulling his coat and black formfitting overshirt off to reveal bandages wrapped around his chest to hide the black Lotus Spell that marred it. He stood, dressed in only a pair of black pants and bandages, and watched as Jaz replaced the sword before grabbing a katana. "Do you want to spar?" Kanda asked.

Jaz smiled. "Do you want to get so brutally defeated that you'll be in tears?" she quipped.

Kanda scoffed. "I highly doubt that will ever happen."

Jaz shrugged. "I warned you." She unsheathed the katana as Kanda unsheathed Mugen. They instantly flew into combat, moving in complete sync. It was almost like they were dancing. They focused on nothing but each other, becoming encased in their own little world as each one tried their hardest to defeat the other.

A sharp clash of metal punctuated the end of the sparring match. "A draw!" Kanda gasped, a little breathless.

Jaz smiled. "You're better than I expected." They threw their katanas aside, knowing that they wouldn't damage anything important, and promptly flew at each other. They blocked each other blow for blow and step for step, constantly mirroring each other. Jaz saw an opening and dove for it, sweeping Kanda's legs out from under him and falling with him as he went down. She landed on him, straddling him and pinning him to the ground. "I win." she said, smirking victoriously.

Kanda flipped them, grunting as he did so. Man, this girl had some muscle on her! "You think?" he asked, cocking his head as if he were confused.

Jaz smirked and reversed their positions once again. "Oh yeah." They wrestled, each one trying to get the other to submit, and neither willing to give up.

* * *

Lavi and Allen watched Jaz and Kanda as they fought, completely thunderstruck by the way Jaz was managing to bring Kanda out of his shell. They were both giving the fight their all, and they didn't even notice that they had drawn an audience. Matt came up beside them. "I never met anyone who could match Jaz in a fight. She scared the crap out of everyone except for L, Near, Mello and I. Not even Mells could beat her, and he was raised by a mafia lord."

Allen looked at Matt. "I'm Allen, but I guess you knew that."

Matt smiled. "Yeah. I'm Matt. You know, she's been looking for you her whole life. She never shut up about how she had found a new lead. She used to get so depressed when a lead ended up being a dead end. I'm glad she found you after all this time."

"So, how are you and Jaz connected? Are you two involved?" Allen asked.

Matt choked on air. "What? No. No, nothing like that. She's my best friend, like, my sister, and she set me up with my boyfriend, Mello." Allen nodded and turned his attention back to the fight. He snuck a glance at Lavi out of the corner of his eye, and found that Lavi was looking at him. Both of them blushed and looked away.

Mello came up beside Matt and hugged him, drawing his boyfriend to his side. "Do you think we should tell Jaz anout those two?" Mello asked.

Matt grinned. "Nah. Knowing her, she's probably noticed all the signs and come up with eight different ways to get them together."

Mello smiled. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Matt turned to Mello with a look of mock-hurt on his face. "Probably? Of course I'm right! I'm always right."

Mello shrugged and his signature Cheshire Cat grin overtook his feminine features. "Whatever lets you sleep at night, Matty." Matt turned his face toward Mello, who captured his lips in a kiss. After they broke the kiss, Matt and Mello slipped away to continue their make-out session.

Lavi and Allen left soon after, leaving Kanda and Jaz alone once again. After a few more hours of switching between using weapons, hand-to-hand combat, and just plain tussling, the two were far too exhausted to do anything but lay side by side and stare at the ceiling. "So, why did you learn to fight?" Kanda asked after a few minutes of silence where the only sound that could be heard was that of labored breathing.

Jaz sighed. "I've been in danger my whole life. When I was in kindergarten, my parents put me in a public school. I was hated and bullied because of the Innocence mark, and every day after school, a bunch of older kids would gang up on me and beat me up. I always managed to hide it from my parents, because those kids wouldn't ever hit anywhere that would be visible. But on the last day of school, they beat me up so bad that I actually ended up in the hospital."

Kanda turned to face her, outraged. "Why didn't you just tell your parents?"

Jaz smirked at the ceiling. "If I did that, they would have pulled me out of school. And for me, that would have been the exact same thing as giving up. Even as a kid, I was pretty freaking stubborn. But after the hospital incident, my parents just hired tutors. They also decided to teach me how to defend myself. After the fire that killed my parents, I threw myself into anything that would make the pain go away, even if it was only for a little while. I got perfect scores on all my schoolwork, invested my money and became super rich, and I started practicing tons of martial arts."

Kanda was silent for a few minutes, processing everything that he had just been told. "Oh. So what did you learn in school?" He inwardly flinched, realizing that he sounded eexactly like a doting parent.

Jaz laughed, realizing the exact same thing he did. "Well, I learned lots of languages, advanced math, and lots of stuff about finances." She stopped dead, remembering something that had been said to her the night her parents died. "What day is it?" she asked.

Kanda did some quick math in his head. "November 19, 2017. Why?"

Jaz laughed dryly. "I turned seventeen today and I also inherited my parents fortune."

Kanda nodded. "Happy birthday, or whatever. So, what languages did you learn?" he asked, getting the feeling that Jaz didn't want to talk about her parents.

Jaz smirked. "Don't be too impressed, okay?"

Kanda shook his head. "I don't get impressed."

Jaz arched an eyebrow, but didn't comment. Instead she answered his question. "I learned Afrikaans, Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Basque, Belarusian, Bengali, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Cebuano, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Esperanto, Estonian, Filipino, Finnish, French, Galician, Georgian, German, Greek, Gujarati, Haitian Creole, Hausa, Hebrew, Hindi, Hmong, Hungarian, Icelandic, Igbo, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Javanese, Kannada, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Latin, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Maltese, Maori, Marathi, Mongolian, Nepali, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese, Welsh, Yiddish, Yoruba, and Zulu. That's what," She counted on her fingers. "79? 80? I don't remember, but I know I didn't learn Babylonian. Maybe Lavi could teach me..." she mused.

Kanda groaned. "You're insane. And you even listed them in alphabetical order! You're almost as bad as Lavi. Why would you do something like that?"

Jaz laughed. "I told you not to get too impressed."

Kanda gaped, opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water. "I'm not impressed, I'm totally freaked out!"

Jaz smiled. "Well, I had to do something to keep my mind off my parents' deaths. I didn't sleep much anyway, so I had nothing better to do."

Kanda sighed. He knew what it was like to lose sleep over something like your parents' deaths. "So, just how much money do you have, now that you inherited the fortune?" he asked, just because he was curious.

Jaz pursed her lips, thinking. "Well, last time I checked, I was a multibilllionaire. My parents had at least a trillion dollars to each of their names, so that makes me what... a multitrillionaire? I don't know if there is even such a thing."

Kanda was shocked. "Wow. And you said you were seventeen?" Jaz nodded. "How did you get so much money?"

Jaz smirked. "I own several of the world's major companies, some of them being Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Wal*Mart. Those companies earn millions of dollars year-round by themeselves, and I also have invested in the stock market. So, to tell you the truth, I own a little bit of everything."

There was one thing Kanda still couldn't get his head around. "If you're so rich, then why did you stay at the orphanage? You have enough money to buy yourself a whole country!"

Jaz smiled. "While that may be true, my family is where my home is, and L, Matt, Near, Mello, Mr. Whammy, and the other orphans are my family. Even BB, although he is mentally ill and belongs in an asylum."

Kanda stared at her. "He tortured you for three years straight, yet you still see him as family?"

Jaz's smile slipped a little bit. "During the time I was imprisoned, I got to know BB very well. He sees L as a threat, because he has been in L's shadow for as long as he can remember. He even refers to himself as L's successor. He was only hurting me because he couldn't physically lash out at my brother. Although his actions were unforgivable, they are justifiable."

Kanda couldn't understand this girl. She was like a cross between him, Allen, Lavi, and Lenalee, and that made her the most confusing person ever. "You confuse me." he said. "You try so hard to hide yourself from the world, but all you're doing is drawing its attention. Yet, even as you try to distance yourself from others, you get so close to them that you can read them like a book."

Jaz smiled. "Yeah, my whole life is a contradiction. It's like every time something terrible happens, something equally wonderful comes out of it. I'm smarter and richer than most people in the world, but I try my hardest to be normal. And when that doesn't work, I just find a new group to fit into."

Suddenly, a thought occured to Kanda. "Is Jaz Lawliet your real name?"

Jaz froze, not really eager to cross into this territory. But, she felt like she could trust Kanda. "No." she sighed. "My real name is Jasmine Everburne. I changed it to keep the cult that killed my parents from finding me."

Kanda nodded. His stomach growled and he stood, figuring that there was still time to eat. He held a hand out to Jaz, helping her up. "Let's get something to eat." he said.

Jaz grinned. "Oh, good. I'm starving."

Kanda groaned, realizing that Jaz was a parasitic type. Just like Allen. "You're not going to eat like a pig, are you? Because Allen does too, and it's disgusting, to say the least."

Jaz smiled. "Well, I have some pretty disgusting eating habits, but no, I don't eat like a pig." Kanda sighed with relief, and they went to the cafeteria, not bothering to change their clothes. Kanda didn't even care enough to put the rest of his clothes back on. The second they stepped into the cafeteria, all conversation stopped. Everyone looked at them, and whispers started flying around the room.

"Who is she?"

"She looks like Allen!"

"Is that Kanda with her? It is!"

"Woah, he looks so gorgeous shirtless."

"Why is he wearing bandages? Did he get hurt?"

"She's creepy, she's got that red mark."

"Look at the cross on her chest, she must be a parasitic type like the Walker kid."

"They must be twins."

"Is Kanda going out with her?"

Jaz laughed out loud, a sound that Kanda had never heard before. It was clear and melodic, like bells. "C'mon, Kanda." Jaz said, pulling him behind her. "I'm starving, remember?"

He smiled slightly, sparking another wildfire of whispers, before quickly hiding his amusement. "Yes, I do remember you saying something along those lines."

Jaz stopped and looked at him, her eyes dancing. "Well, what are you waiting for? Where's the food?"

Kanda turned the tables and started pulling her along behind him, leading the way to Jerry. The chef looked at them, a huge smile splitting his face. "Ooh, a new one! What'll you be having?"

"My usual." Kanda said emotionlessly.

"I should have known. And you, pretty lady?" Jerry asked, turning to Jaz.

"I'll have whatever he's having, along with whatever Allen usually has. And please include at least three jelly-filled doughnuts with honey and powdered sugar." Jerry and Kanda looked at her, confused by this last request. "What?" she asked, shrugging. "It's an addiction."

Jerry grinned. "Okay, and to drink?"

"Something highly caffeinated and extremely sugary. But not coffee. I hate coffee. And do you have hot chocolate?" Jaz looked so hopeful that Kanda wanted to laugh. He didn't, of course. He had to preserve what was left of his image.

"Sure thing, hon. What's your name?"

"Jaz. Jaz Lawliet."

Jerry's eyes widened behind his sunglasses. "Did you say Lawliet?"

Jaz smirked and nodded. "Indeed I did."

Jerry shook his head. "I never heard of a Jaz Lawliet."

Jaz shrugged one shoulder, which Kanda found adorable. He would never admit it out loud, though. "I was kind of adopted."

Jerry leaned forward, intrigued. "What do you mean, 'kind of'?"

Jaz shifted her weight and put her hands behind her head, interlocking her fingers like Lavi did before answering. "L decided that he was going to be my new older brother."

Jerry's eyes were wide as saucers. "L? The greatest detective in the known world?"

Jaz arched an eyebrow, grinning. "Have you heard of any other?"

Jerry opened his mouth to reply, but he never got to, because a loud shout drew everyone's attention. "JAZ!" A white blur flew through the air toward them.

Jaz ducked while simultaneously reaching out a hand. She caught the blur and pulled it to her body as she stood fluidly. Kanda recognized the blur to be Near, Jaz's little brother. Although he was eleven, Near was small for his age, so Jaz easily cradled him to her, making it seem effortless. "Hey, Near. You hungry?"

Near nodded. "Yeah, I am."

Jaz turned to Jerry. "Fries, vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce, applesauce, and steak, medium rare. And warm milk also." Jaz said, nodding to herself.

Near turned to his siter, wide-eyed. "You remembered?"

Jaz smiled softly. "Of course I did, silly. Not even BB could make me forget about someone as important as you, Near. No matter what happens to me, I will never forget anything about my family." Near sniffled and hid his blushing face in the crook of Jaz's neck.

Jaz nuzzled Near's hair before turning to Matt and Mello, who had accompanied him to the cafeteria. She smirked when she noticed their swollen lips and flushed faces. "Hey, Matt." she said, beckoning with her head for him to come closer. When he obliged, Jaz whispered in his ear. "Are you two using protection?" Due to his superb hearing, Kanda heard every word. He couldn't suppress a wicked smirk. The exact same expression was on Jaz's face as Matt blushed furiously.

Mello looked at Matt and Jaz curiously before pulling Matt into his embrace. "What did she say?" he asked his boyfriend. Matt whispered in his ear, and Mello proceeded to turn just as red as Matt, if not redder. He glared at Jaz. "I'll make you regret saying that." he threatened.

Jaz arched an eyebrow, her sadistic grin widening. "I'd like to see you try, Mells."

Jerry cleared his throat. "Okay, you guys, your food is ready."

Jaz smiled and thanked him before setting Near down. She balanced multiple plates of food on her arms, shoulders, and head, gripping a hot chocolate in one hand and her sugary, caffeinated drink in the other. She then sauntered over to a secluded table on the other side of the cafeteria without difficulty, as though she did stuff like this all the time. Kanda grabbed his tray of soba and followed her, watching in fascination as she smoothly set all the plates down in a twirling motion, keeping them confined to a small portion of the table. She tugged Kanda down onto the bench beside her, to which he did not complain. Near clambered up onto the bench across from her, as did Matt and Mello, each bearing their own plates of food. They were soon joined by Lavi, Allen, and Lenalee. Jaz slathered a generous amount of honey onto one of her doughnuts, which Jerry had provided five of, followed soon after by powdered sugar. She took a bite, closing her eyes in pure bliss as she savored the over-sugary treat. Kanda watched her every move, unwilling to miss a single detail. He had never seen anyone with an expression so... honest. She wasn't masquerading behind a mask, and Kanda found that he quite liked her, well, as much as he could like a human being other than himself. Lavi smirked at Allen, nodding his head at Kanda, who was still observing Jaz. Mello caught the movement and grinned wickedly at Matt, realizing just how they could get their revenge. It was their turn to play matchmaker, and they needed everyone's help.


	6. Welcome To France

**Chapter 6: Welcome To France**

Kanda escorted Jaz to her room when they were done eating. When they reached it, Jaz opened the door and started to go inside, but stopped. She turned and leaned against the doorjamb, propping herself up by her forearm in a surprisingly seductive pose. She didn't even notice the way Kanda's throat constricted through no will of his own. "We should do this more often." she said, smiling happily. "I had a good time, and I haven't ever met anyone who was equal to me in skill."

Kanda nodded, then smirked as an idea came into his head. "Hey, why don't we have a contest?"

Jaz tilted her head, her smile turning into a competitive smirk. "Oh yeah? What kind of contest?"

Kanda flipped his hair over his shoulder and stared Jaz in the eyes. "Starting right now, whoever can destroy the most bad guys is the winner. Level One Akumas are one point, Level Twos are two points, Level Threes are three points, you get it."

"What's the highest level an Akuma can acheive?" Jaz asked, liking the way this was going.

Kanda ran a finger over his lips in a contemplative gesture. "I think that they can only reach Level Five. And Noahs are ten points if you severely injure them, fifteen if you capture them, and twenty if you can kill the Noah like you did with Road."

Jaz nodded. "Okay, I can deal with that. Any other rules I should know about?"

"You lose points if you hurt a civilian. Now, this only applies to you. If there is a hostage situation and the hostage gets hurt, you don't lose points. It's only if you inflict damage upon them."

Jaz's eyes darkened slightly at the idea of civilians getting involved. "How many points?"

"Five for each person."

"What do I get for killing the Millenium Earl?" Jaz asked, eyes glinting dangerously.

Kanda thought for a moment, a little surprised by this request. "If you can manage that without help, you automatically win. If you are the one who strikes the killing blow, but you are helped, you only get one hundred points." he finally decided.

Jaz held out a hand, which Kanda shook. "You're on, Samurai." she said.

Kanda blinked, caught off guard by the nickname, before grinning. "May the best Exorcist win, Angel."

Jaz laughed. "Where did that come from?"

Kanda shrugged. "You're white hair makes a halo when you're fighting."

Jaz smiled. "I like it."

Kanda nodded. "Of course you do."

Jaz shook her head and flung her arms around Kanda in a full-on hug, almost throwing him off balance. "Good night, Samurai." she said before turning around and quickly retreating into her room, closing and locking the door behind her.

"Night, Angel." Kanda murmured as he turned and walked to his room.

* * *

Matt and Mello turned to Lavi, Allen, and Lenalee, who had been spying on Kanda and Jaz with them. "See?" they whispered in unison, making sure that neither Jaz nor Kanda could hear them.

The other three exchanged glances, completely floored. "Did I see Kanda... smile?" Lenalee whispered, jealousy burning in her eyes. She had been Kanda's first friend and hadn't been able to make him show positive emotion, and then this stranger comes in and makes him smile without even trying at all! It just wasn't fair.

Lavi grinned. "Yes, Lena, you did. So, guys," he said, turning back to Matt and Mello. "Why exactly did you have us spy on them?"

Mello grinned evilly. "We're going to get them together."

Allen almost died. "What?" he whispered angrily, trying very hard to keep himself from yelling. This was his little sister they were talking about!

Matt smiled reassuringly. "Hey, man, it's okay. You can obviously tell that they like each other, so why don't we just give them a little... push... to get them to realize it?"

Allen considered it before finally surrendering. "Fine, but I don't want either of them getting hurt in the process. Jaz has been through enough, and Kanda, too. We can't let this get out of control."

Matt nodded understandingly. "She's our friend, too. We would never intentionally hurt her, although this will definitely include some light-hearted teasing."

Seeing that Allen was confused, Mello jumped in. "Jaz set me up with Matt, as I am sure he has already told you. Well, it's our turn to return the favor. She teases us as well, so it's only fair that we do the same."

"Okay." Allen agreed. Little did the group know that Jaz was stressing over the exact same thing.

* * *

_How can I be so foolish?_ Jaz thought to herself, pacing a hole into her floor and clutching her hair in her hands. _How could I get a crush on Kanda after just barely meeting him? It's stupid and risky and there is no doubt that one of us is going to get hurt! _She winced at the thought of emotional pain. Physical stuff, she could take. But the emotional stuff was the reason she had trained her body to work properly despite the fact that she only slept about five hours a week. _Well, _Jaz finally concluded. _There is absolutely no way I can let anyone know. So, I'll just have to be normal. Normal. I can do that. I can do this. _"Well," Jaz mused aloud. "I'd better get some sleep so I can have some more energy for the mission tomorrow." She warily turned out the lights and stripped until she was in nothing but her underwear and laid down on her bed, relaxing and forcing herself to fall asleep. She was too exhausted from fighting with Kanda to have nightmares that night.

* * *

Loud knocking on her door woke Jaz up from the best night's sleep she had had in six years. "Who is it?" she asked, her voice husky. She had a natural gravel in her voice that went away when she was exhausted, one that she hadn't heard in six years.

"It's Matt. Did I wake you up?"

Jaz stretched like a cat and moaned quietly before standing and striding to the door, not caring that she was nearly naked. Matt was one of her best friends, not to mention he was gay, so it wouldn't be an awkward moment. "Yeah." she said, opening the door. "But it's okay. I shouldn't have been asleep in the first place, because I got more than enough shut-eye when I was with BB."

Matt walked in, and, as Jaz had predicted, he merely glanced at her before turning his attention elsewhere out of respect. He closed the door behind him. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"As you already know, I was tortured daily. What you probably don't know is that I passed out from the pain. Every day I would sleep for hours. So, over the course of three years, I probably got over a thousand hours of sleep."

Matt gaped at her. "That's all you care about? You got too much sleep?"

Jaz turned a scathing glare onto him, making him freeze. "No." she said coldly. "But it's better than dwelling on these." She revealed the scars, still staring at him with that empty gaze. No emotion, no feeling, no nothing. It was just... blank.

It was then that Matt realized that Jaz was irrepairibly broken, and not even Kanda could fix that. She would never be the same. Everyone had been treating her like she hadn't even been gone, which was probably what she wanted, but they had forgotten that she actually had been gone, and she had been through much worse than she let on. "I'm sorry." he said quietly.

Jaz ran a hand through her hair, brushing it away from her face and calming it down in one motion. "It's not your fault, Matt."

"I should have protected you-"

Jaz snapped. "I DON'T NEED PROTECTION!" she yelled. Matt just sat there and let her rant, because she needed to let it out. He was glad he had locked the door behind him, because he didn't want anyone walking in on them when Jaz was like this. "I MAKE ONE MISTAKE AND SUDDENLY EVERYONE TREATS ME LIKE I'M MADE OF GLASS! I'M NOT! I CAN PROTECT MYSELF! JUST BECAUSE I MESSED UP DOESN'T MEAN THAT I WILL AGAIN! I LET MY GUARD DOWN, AND I GOT WHAT I DESERVED!"

That made him mad. "YOU DID NOT DESERVE WHAT BB DID TO YOU!" he yelled, surprising Jaz for a minute.

Jaz hung her head. "Yes I did."

Matt was shocked. "No, you didn't."

Jaz laughed, and it hurt Matt just to hear it. It was so broken, so different from the happy laughter he had heard last night. "My parents always said that they would protect me no matter what. I checked the security footage that was salvaged from the fire, and the reason my parents didn't get out is because they were looking for me. They put my life above their own and died because of it."

Matt wanted to hug her, to comfort her, but he didn't dare. "Your parents loved you."

"I KILLED THEM, MATT! THE CULT TARGETED US BECAUSE OF ME! I FLAUNTED MY MARK BECAUSE IT MADE ME DIFFERENT, AND NOW MY PARENTS ARE DEAD! ALLEN NEVER GOT TO MEET THEM BECAUSE OF ME! THEY'RE DEAD BECAUSE OF ME!" Jaz's eyes were filled with tears, but she refused to let them fall.

Matt grabbed her shoulders. "LISTEN TO ME, EVERBURNE!" Jaz stilled, her eyes widening at the mention of her name. "Your parents are not dead because of you. They are dead because of the hatred of others. You did not kill them."

"I might as well have. Their blood is on my hands." Jaz said, her voice a monotone. She was retreating into her safe place, her ice shell, shutting down all emotions until all that was left was a husk. It made her a very efficient fighter, but it also made her unapproachable. Matt had never seen it in action, nor had anyone else. Only Jaz knew that she would become frigid and she would probably push everyone who loved her away. Oh well, it was for the best. If she was close to them, she would hurt them. Matt opened his mouth to argue, but Jaz shrugged away from his touch and turned her back on him, grabbing her uniform and going into the bathroom, locking it behind her. She was shaking, but no tears fell. She hid the scars again, vowing to never show them to anyone else but BB. He deserved to see what he had done to her. She showered, then got dressed before braiding her extremely long hair. It hadn't been cut in three years. She took a good, long look at herself in front of the full-length mirror, assessing herself. She looked cold and cruel and evil. Her white hair starkly contrasted with the black of the uniform and didn't do a thing to make her face look any less pale. She looked like a vampire assassin. Sexy and dangerous, but completely detached from everything around her. It was not going to be easy to get her to open up again. She flipped the hood up, and her golden eyes flashed icily.

When Jaz exited the bathroom, Matt straightened. He stared at her. Something about her was different, off. She was not the same person who had gone into the bathroom. "Jaz..." he said. He was going to try once again to convince her that the death of her parents was not her fault.

"No, Matt." she said, her voice cutting and emotionless. It was colder than Antarctica. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave. I don't have time to argue with you." She just watched him as he sadly strode to the door, unlocking it. She was distant and unfeeling, and Matt could sense that. Without another word, he left. Jaz equipped herself with her many weapons, hiding every single one. Then she exited her room as well, ready for her first mission.

* * *

Kanda was going to wake Jaz up. He was right outside her door, but her shouts kept him from knocking. "I DON'T NEED PROTECTION! I MAKE ONE MISTAKE AND SUDDENLY EVERYONE STARTS TREATING ME LIKE I'M MADE OF GLASS! I'M NOT! I CAN PROTECT MYSELF! JUST BECAUSE I MESSED UP DOESN'T MEAN THAT I WILL AGAIN! I LET MY GUARD DOWN, AND I GOT WHAT I DESERVED!" Kanda flinched at that. He had seen her scars, and they were in no way minor. No one deserved that, especially not Jaz. He wondered about it as Matt yelled at her. What had she done that was so bad she decided that she deserved three years of torture? He got his answer during her next bout of shouting. "I KILLED THEM, MATT! THE CULT TARGETED US BECAUSE OF ME! I FLAUNTED MY MARK BECAUSE IT MADE ME DIFFERENT, AND NOW MY PARENTS ARE DEAD! ALLEN NEVER GOT TO MEET THEM BECAUSE OF ME! THEY'RE DEAD BECAUSE OF ME!" Kanda couldn't listen to any more. She had believed that she had killed her parents for six years. She had blamed herself all this time.

_She probably believes that she hurts everyone she opens up to. Because of that, she will start pushing everyone away, starting with me, Matt, Mello, Near, Road, Allen, Lavi, and Lenalee. _Kanda thought. He didn't know why, but his heart twisted painfully when he thought of her pushing him away. He turned away from the now silent room and quickly strode off, his footsteps taking him to Komui's office to wait for the others who would be accompanying him on the mission.

Kanda waited there for only a little while before Allen, Lavi, and Lenalee showed up. "Where's Jaz?" Allen asked.

Kanda shrugged. "Maybe she doesn't know we need to be up this early. We should send someone to get her." Lavi suggested.

"No need." Jaz's sub-zero voice growled from the doorway. Everyone turned to her as she walked in, and the room seemed to get ten degrees colder. Goosebumps appeared on Lenalee's arms. "Cold?" Jaz asked, regarding Lenalee with a gaze that was almost predatory. Lenalee shivered, but it had nothing to do with the cold.

Komui bounced into the room, seeming overly happy. "Good, you're all here!" he said cheerfully.

Suddenly, a large robot appeared behind the man. It surveyed the group before it before its gaze landed on Jaz. Its eye turned red and a knife came out of nowhere, hurtling toward the side of Jaz's head. No one even had time to cry out before Jaz caught the weapon by the hilt and flipped it around in her hand, throwing it back at the machine even faster than it had come flying without even looking. The knife drilled straight through the robot's eye and through its head, embedding itself in the wall. Everyone was silent, completely stunned. The robot keeled over onto its side, its eye dark and lifeless. "Don't throw sharp objects at me." she said, turning her death glare onto the now-useless hunk of metal.

Komui gaped, his mouth opening and shutting like a fish out of water. "Komurin!" he finally yelled, crouching by the motionless robot.

Jaz sighed. "Komui, get away." When he didn't respond, Jaz's eyes narrowed. "Komui! Get. Away." He still pretended not to have heard her. She growled low in her throat before jumping over the desk, using her arm to propel herself higher. She vaulted over to Komui, using her momentum to throw both of them far away from the robot just as it exploded. She glared down at him, hovering over him and holding herself up on her hands and knees. She barely even grunted when heavy pieces of metal landed on her back, almost making her collapse.

"Jaz! Komui!" three voices yelled in unison. Kanda, on the other hand, went over to Jaz, removing the heavy burden from her back and helping her to stand.

Jaz leaned on him, waiting for the contract symbol to do its work and repair her back. She glared at Komui, her lip curling slightly. "Listen to me when I talk to you, got it?" Her eyes flashed, and Komui swallowed audibly.

"Y-you-you d-des-destroyed K-Kom-Komur-Komurin!" he stuttered when he could finally speak.

Jaz darted forward, crouching in front of Komui and cluthing his shirt in her fists, dragging him forward until their faces were only a few centimeters apart. "I just saved your life." she said, very slowly and very clearly. Her voice was calm and controlled, but it had an underlying edge to it. Komui was shaking, completely terrified. "You should be grateful." Kanda was now able to hear the rasp in her voice, and it surprised him, because he hadn't heard it yesterday. She was a wild card, something that the Order couldn't control. Kanda wasn't sure if that was good or bad. Jaz flung Komui away from her like he was a rag doll and stood, turning to her companions. "I need to go pack. I'll meet you back here in five minutes." She then left, not even waiting for an answer.

"What's with her?" Lenalee asked, rolling her eyes like Jaz was just a kid throwing a temper tantrum.

Kanda turned on her, angry. "She was tortured for three years, and no one came to save her. Then, when she does show up, everyone treats her like she wasn't even gone. They still expect her to be the girl she was before, but she isn't. She's trying her hardest to be normal, but she can't when she has to constantly throw herself into danger to protect others. She doesn't even have to do that, but she does because she feels that it is expected of her. She is trying to atone for past sins that she didn't even commit, and yet you have the audacity to be so shallow that you ridicule her for being a little harsh."

Lenalee stared at him like a deer in the headlights. "I'm sorry, Kanda."

Kanda glared at her. "_Che_. You should be apologizing to Jaz, not me."

"You and Jaz are very similar." Lavi said.

Kanda turned to him. "You say that like you know us. Let me get something straight. You do not know me, and you definitely don't know Jaz. Don't act like it, Baka Usagi." With that, he stalked off, following Jaz.

* * *

When Jaz reached her room, she immediately closed and locked the door behind her. She grabbed her black backpack and placed carefully folded underwear in it, along with a brush, a razor, her citrus-scented shampoo and conditioner, and her laptop. She also packed a change of clothes, which consisted of a black racerback tank top that was nearly skin-tight and fell to the middle of her thighs, black DCs, black elbow-length fingerless gloves, and purple skin-tight capri leggings. She flipped down the hood of her duster and put her purple headphones around her neck, the black cord trailing down to the pocket of her duster, where it was attached to her i-Pod. She slung one strap of the lightweight backpack over her shoulder and left the room, literally bumping into Kanda and almost losing her balance. "Are you okay?" he asked, steadying her.

"Yes." she said curtly, backing away from him after she had regained her balance. "Thank you." Kanda inclined his head, hiding the hurt he felt at being pushed away. "We should go." Jaz said. She walked around him and headed toward where the others were gathered, with Kanda trailing along behind her. Komui led the way to the boat, which the Exorcists boarded. "Komui?" Jaz asked, just as they were about to set off. He turned to her, looking like he had just peed himself. "If I don't make it back, tell my family that I love them, and tell Matt I'm sorry." Then the boat set off, leaving Komui trying to make sense of what had just happened. Jaz ignored the looks that the other Exorcists were giving her and went to the empty side of the boat. She sat down and put on her headphones, turning the volume all the way up and pressing play. Broken by Lifehouse began to play.

***The broken clock is a comfort, it lets me sleep tonight***  
***Maybe it can stop tomorrow from stealing all my time***  
***I am here still waiting though I still have my doubts***  
***I am damaged at best, like you've already figured out***

Kanda's ears picked up the sound, and he actually flinched at how he heard the lyrics in Jaz's voice. The others looked at him, surprised and worried. Kanda never showed pain. They left him alone, which he was glad for. He didn't want anyone to know why he was feeling pain.

***I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing***  
***With a broken heart that's still beating***  
***In the pain, there is healing***  
***In your name I find meaning***  
***So I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on***  
***I'm barely holdin' on to you***

Jaz had unconciously started singing along, drawing the attention of everyone else. Her voice conveyed all the pain and anguish that she was feeling, and no one wanted to disturb her. Lenalee felt unbelieveably guilty, realizing that she had been jealous because Jaz had found a kindred spirit.

***The broken locks were a warning you got inside my head***  
***I tried my best to be guarded, I'm an open book instead***  
***I still see your reflection inside of my eyes***  
***That are looking for a purpose, they're still looking for life***

Kanda flinched again at how broken Jaz sounded. It was like she only let her true emotions show through when she was singing, and she didn't even realize it.

***I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing***  
***With a broken heart that's still beating***  
***In the pain, there is healing***  
***In your name I find meaning***  
***So I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on***  
***Barely holdin' onto you***

Jaz was crying as she listened to the song, and she didn't realize that she was singing along. She felt like it was meant for her, because it tied so closely to what she was feeling. She had started to forget her parent's faces and other important things about them, and the only thing she knew for certain was that it was her fault they had died.

***I'm hangin' on another day***  
***Just to see what you throw my way***  
***And I'm hanging onto the words you say***  
***You said that I will be okay***

Allen wanted to hug her, but he didn't dare for fear she would stop singing, or worse, push him away. She sounded like she needed help, but he knew she would refuse it. She was independent, and she would not let anyone share her burden. Not even if they wanted to.

***The broken lights on the freeway left me here alone***  
***I may have lost my way now, haven't forgotten my way home***

They transferred to a train, where Jaz once again sat away from the others, trying to keep them at a distance.

***I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing***  
***With a broken heart that's still beating***  
***In the pain, there is healing***  
***In your name I find meaning***  
***So I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin'on, I'm holdin' on***  
***Barely holdin' onto you***

Kanda got up and sat by Jaz as the song ended, holding her to him. He was too busy looking down at Jaz's wet face to notice the looks that Allen, Lavi, and Lenalee were giving him. He carefully brushed the tears away. "It's okay. You can be yourself with me." he murmured, knowing she could hear him. "I'll protect you." Jaz closed her eyes as the song switched to In your Skin by Lifehouse. Kanda's eyes brightened as he recognized the song, and he couldn't restrain himself from singing along with her.

***Throw stones, breaking bones, then wondering why you run for cover***  
***You fight the world from inside***  
***Lay down, playing dead, turn the page, it's just another wasted day in your mind***

***You live to run away***  
***But fear is the hardest act to follow***  
***Let me let you in***  
***Hold on another day***  
***Face the truth, it's hard to swallow***  
***It's time to begin, there's only one life***  
***In your skin***

***Wake up, take a breath, remember why you're even breathing***  
***You're still alive***  
***Give it, give it up, you're the only one believing in all of your lies***

***You live to run away***  
***But fear is the hardest act to follow***  
***Let me let you in***  
***Hold on another day***  
***Face the truth, it's hard to swallow***  
***It's time to begin, there's only one life***  
***In your skin, in your skin***

***You live to run away***  
***But fear is the hardest act to follow***  
***Let me let you in***  
***Hold on another day***  
***Face the truth, it's hard to swallow***  
***It's time to begin, there's only one life***  
***In your skin, in your skin***

The two kept singing until they reached their destination, with the others joining in when they knew the song. They all had wonderful singing voices. Jaz was so happy that they had shared this experience, because she had a feeling that it would be one of the last ones they would have for a while. They went into the hotel, which was a really nice five-star hotel. Since the Order couldn't afford it, Jaz offered to pay for it. She finally found a way to get rid of her excessive amount of money. She had checked her balance the night before, and she was more than surprised to find that she was not a multitrillionaire, as she had previously assumed, but a multiquadrillionaire. It was insane. She hadn't known that the world even had that much money. "_**Deux chambres, s'il vous plaît**_." (Two rooms, please.) Jaz said to the receptionist. "_**Un pour deux et l'autre pour les trois**_." (One for two and the other for three.)

The receptionist smiled brightly. "_**Voulez-vous les accolés ou séparés**_?" (Would you like them adjoined or separate?)

"_**Touché, s'il vous plaît**_." (Adjoined, please.)

"_**Un service d'étage**_?" (Room service?)

"_**Oui**_." (Yes.)

The receptionist entered some things into her computer before handing Jaz two keys. "_**Ici vous allez. Vos chambres sont à l'étage treize. Bon séjour**_!" (Here you go. Your rooms are on floor thirteen. Have a nice stay!)

"_**Ouais, d'accord**_." (Yeah, okay.) Jaz mumbled before leading the others to the elevator and pressing the button for the 13th floor. The elevator transported them to where they wanted to go, and then Jaz led them to rooms 132 and 133. "So, 132 is the room with two beds and 133 is the room with three." Jaz informed the others after opening the doors.

"We get 133!" Allen, Lavi, and Lenalee said in unison.

Jaz shrugged. She had expected Lenalee to want to share the two-bed room with her, so that the boys and girls were separated, but whatever. "I guess Kanda and I get 132. C'mon, Samurai." she said, leading the way into the room. She snagged the bed furthest from the window, because it was closer to the bathroom.

"Whatever you want, Angel." he said before glaring at the other three. ""You're up to something." he mused. He made the simple statement sound like a threat.

Allen flipped his hair out of his eyes. "I don't know what you're on about, BaKanda, but we just thought that you and Jaz should share because she's more comfortable with you."

Kanda just huffed before entering the room, slamming the door behind him. "Kanda!" Jaz admonished. "We are in a public place!"

"Sorry, Angel. I'm just not used to being in a place this nice. Besides, I think that the others are up to something."

Jaz rubbed the back of her neck, a thing she did when she was thinking about something. "Yeah, you're right. They've all been acting weird since last night."

Kanda glared at the wall, which he knew the others were on the other side of. "I hate it when they do this."

"Do what?" Jaz asked, unpacking her stuff.

"Keep stuff from the rest of the group. I mean, they obviously know something we don't." he said, listening as Lavi, Allen, and Lenalee giggled and high-fived.

Jaz sighed. "We're not going to be able to get them to spill their secret if we just sit here and mope about not being included. How about we go look around town while we come up with a plan?" she asked as she removed her change of clothes from her backpack and locked herself in the bathroom to change.

"Yeah, that sounds good." Kanda said, wondering what in the crap she was changing for.

Jaz came back into the room, and Kanda stared at her openly, not even trying to hide the fact that he was studying her. Her tank top proclaimed 'Together We Will Be Unbroken' in big purple letters that matched her leggings. "You should change, too." she said.

"Why?" Kanda asked, truly curious. "What's wrong with this?" He motioned to his uniform.

Jaz sighed. "We don't want to attract attention, Samurai. For today, we are just normal tourists. Now change."

"I didn't bring a change of clothes." Kanda said, as though that would change Jaz's mind.

Jaz scoffed and jumped on Kanda, straddling his lap as she undid the buttons on his Exorcist jacket. She pushed it off his shoulders to reveal another tight black T-shirt and black skinny jeans, accompanied by black boots. She removed Mugen from its place on his hip. "There." she said proudly. She looked up at him to find that he was staring longingly at his katana. She rolled her eyes. "Kanda, normal, remember?" She got off his lap and went to her uniform, which was concealing the weapons that she didn't currently have hiding on her person. "Here." she said, handing over a few knives and shuriken. Kanda looked at her in surprise, and she smirked, removing a knife from each glove, along with shuriken that had been resting on her palms. She removed small knives from her DCs and shuriken from the waistband of her leggings. There was also a switchblade hidden in her bra, but she figured that Kanda didn't need to know about that one.

"Why do you have all this?" Kanda asked as she put all the weapons back into her clothing.

Jaz gave him a look that made him wish he hadn't spoken. "I never go anywhere unprepared. Call me paranoid, call me crazy, but I've been through way to much to walk around unprotected." She slid knives into his boots and handed him shuriken to put in his waistband. "You should invest in these." she said, motioning to the small pile of weapons that were going to be left behind. "They're really nice to have around." She hid the weapons in her uniform and put the uniform in the safe, along with Kanda's coat. She tucked Mugen under the mattress. She emptied her backpack and slung it over her shoulder, hiding her precious possessions in various places all over the room. She grabbed her i-Pod, putting the headphones around ehr neck just like earlier. "Let's go, Samurai." she said, holding her hand out to him. He took it, and they left the room, Jaz pocketing the key. Jaz waved at the receptionist as they passed her. "_**Nous serons de retour plus tard aujourd'hui**_." (We will be back later today.)

"_**Bien sûr. Je vais informer le reste de votre groupe que vous êtes allé faire du tourisme s'ils venue vous chercher**_." (Of course. I will inform the rest of your group that you went to go sightseeing if they come looking for you.)

"_**Merci**_." (Thank you.) Jaz said, pulling Kanda out of the building. "Ooh, let's go to the bakery!" she said happily, running toward it.

"Why?" Kanda asked.

Jaz was practically skipping. "Because it's France, and France is famous for two things: fashion and food. So let's go!"

"Okay." Kanda said. "But will you stop skipping? You're making a scene."

Jaz pouted, letting her inner kid out. "No."

Kanda shrugged. "You brought this upon yourself." he said, scooping Jaz up and slinging her over his shoulder.

"Ahh!" Jaz shrieked, laughing. "Put me down! Kanda, put me down!"

"No." Kanda mocked her, pouting.

Jaz kept laughing and shrieking, lightly hitting Kanda's back in a futile attempt to escape. Many people looked over at them, smiling at their antics. Kanda set her down when they reached the bakery, and Jaz oohed and ahhed over the large selection of jelly-filled doughnuts. "Kanda, look!" She motioned to all the doughnuts. "They have lime-filled doughnuts."

Kanda made a face. "That sounds so gross."

"I wanna try it." Jaz rang the bell, and a teenage boy came to the counter.

"_**Bonjour. Bienvenue dans les pâtisseries de Jacques. Que puis-je faire pour vous aujourd'hui**_?" (Hello. Welcome to Jacques' Pastries. What can I get for you today?) The boy smiled at them.

"_**Je voudrais que le beignet chaux-rempli avec du miel et du sucre en poudre. Et il souhaite que le beignet de gelée de fraise-remplie, également avec du miel et du sucre en poudre**_." (I would like the lime-filled jelly doughnut with honey and powdered sugar. And he would like the strawberry-filled jelly doughnut, also with honey and powdered sugar.) Jaz said, smiling brightly.

The boy grinned and nodded. "_**Tout de suite. Il ne semble pas être le type qui aime les choses trop doux, si**_." (Coming right up. He doesn't seem like the type who likes overly sweet things, though.)

Jaz laughed. "_**Oh, il n'est pas. Il a dit que mon habitude était brut, donc je vais devoir lui essayer**_." (Oh, he's not. He said that my habit was gross, so I'm going to have him try it.)

"_**Eh bien, il est dans un vrai régal**_." (Well, he's in for a treat.) The boy handed Jaz a bag over the counter.

"_**Merci**_." (Thank you.) Jaz said, taking the bag.

"_**Vous êtes les bienvenus**_." (You're welcome.)

Jaz led Kanda over to a table and removed her doughnut and toppings from the bag. "It's still warm." Jaz said, her mouth curving up in a blissful smile.

Kanda shuddered. "How can you eat that?"

Jaz's smile turned into an evil smirk. "I dare you to eat what's in the bag."

Kanda warily looked in the bag. He did not want to eat what was inside, but his pride did not allow him to back down from a challenge. He watched as Jaz poured the honey and powdered sugar onto her doughnut before doing the same. He tentatively bit into the concoction. His eyes widened in surprise. It was actually really very good! "I did not expect it to taste this good." he said after swallowing.

Jaz stood and did a little victory dance, her doughnut already gone. "I knew you would like it!" They were busy all day, doing a variety of different things. They went shopping, they had a ferry ride, they went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, and then they went back to the hotel around 8:00 at night.

"_**Bienvenue à nouveau**_." (Welcome back.) The receptionist said to them when they got back. Jaz just nodded at her, too exhausted to do anything else.


End file.
